Paws For Justice
by MagicAlpha
Summary: When a rock of crystals from space broke off and entered Zootopia, it bestowed powers to four ordinary mammals. Uniting with the crystals in common, they became the Zootopia Justice League. After a period of time without any crime to fight, Bellwether escapes and begins to put together a new kind of plot. Will she be stopped, or will she have her revenge? (On hiatus)
1. Introducing Our Heroes

**Author's Note:**

 **Hey everyone! Wanted to share a Zootopia fanfic I've been working on called "Paws For Justice".**

 **It came from an idea that popped into my head: What if there were superheroes that help save the day in Zootopia? What if Nick Wilde, Judy Hopps, Gazelle and Chief Bogo all had their own origins, and were in a superhero league?**

 **I thought that would be so cool! So here we go!**

* * *

Deep within space, a cluster of crystals shining in a kaleidoscope of colors floated in peace. Nothing ever got too close to it, nothing ever disturbed it. It simply just floated silently in its own designated orbit. The origins of this strange cluster still remain unknown, but one thing that was certain was the striking amount of power and capabilities it contained. Deep within the crystal was an infinite amount of dynamic energy, vigorously coursing in every fragment like blood does through veins. Of course it was a known fact that everything was full of kinetic energies, the crystal required an entirely different approach. It was not just full of energy, it also harnessed many potential powers as well. If it would have been left unprotected by the crystal's exterior, all of the potential energies pumping through it would flow forward.

And so they did. When something similar to that of a meteor ran into it, the cluster was crushed and broke off in the atmosphere. During that time, many pieces from the giant rock broke off and sporadically scattered into various locations. However, four fragments made their small but life-changing impact into the great mammalian metropolis of Zootopia, changing the lives of a group of mammals. A fox named Nicholas Wilde. A rabbit from Bunnyburrow with dreams of being a police officer. A gazelle with a popular singing voice. A cape buffalo who originally had a passion for music. While the remaining crystals either dissipated in the atmosphere or went unfound, the four proved to be surprises to these four ordinary mammals.

They each received something that would change the course of their lives forever. The energy from these crystals bestowed a superpower unto each of them. Flight, super speed, the ability to stretch the body into other shapes and forms, and super strength. They all received these much to their surprise.

While the origins of the energy-filled crystal still remains unknown, there is one that people do know regarding it. It created superheroes out of four ordinary mammals. When they joined together, realizing they all had a common story about the crystals, they teamed up to create the group that would be there to save the day in Zootopia. Now they are known as, Wilde Flyer, ZipPaw, Elast-zelle and Bogo The Great. Together they form the Zootopia Justice League!


	2. ZJL Origins - WildeFlyer

**Author's Note: Hi everyone, I'm back! Today I just thought I would share the origins of each of our heroes, so this is the first of the four. So without further ado, here's the origins of Nick Wilde (a.k.a WildeFlyer). Enjoy! :)**

* * *

It was the worst day ever for young Nicholas Wilde. In fact, words couldn't even begin to explain how upset he felt inside. He always dreamed of becoming a Ranger Scout, but everyone didn't want him because he was a fox. As soon as he swallowed his tears, he knew that it was simply time to go back home. He knew that they did not want him, and he learned that night to never let them get to him. He decided to make his way down the street, when all of a sudden there was a faint green glow of light coming from out of the darkness. _That's a strange light!,_ he thought, _Better go check out what on earth it is._

He proceeded to walk forward and started to come closer to the source of the light. It appeared to be glowing from a big and brightly shining crystal sitting there abandoned.

"Woah" he whispered, "What is this?"

He got down on his knees and laid on paw slightly upon the crystal. It felt coarse to the touch and the glow of the light made his paw pads shine green.

 _This is so cool!,_ he thought, _This makes up for everything. I so have to take this home with me_

So he picked up the crystal (which was heavier than he thought) and made his back. He walked only a few paces when all of a sudden the crystal started to shine brighter. "Huh," he said "that's odd."

Nick completely ignored it and carried on, but something wasn't quite right. The crystal started to shine brighter and brighter until it was almost blinding. He placed a paw over his eyes to shield them. "Man, is that getting bright!" he exclaimed, "What's up with that?"

In that moment the crystal shone the most blinding white light, and BOOM! Nick was blown off his paws and flung backwards onto the ground. He got up and brushed the dust off of his fur. "Okay, that was beyond crazy" he remarked. He didn't think it could get any crazier, but he soon noticed that the crystal was gone and nowhere to be found. _Hey! Where'd the stone go?_

He ran forward to try and search for it when all of a sudden he noticed he wasn't moving. He was running at a fast pace and yet he wasn't going anywhere. He looked down at his feet and noticed that he was levitating off the ground.

"Aaaah! I'm floating off the ground!"

Like a bird, Nick started to soar higher and higher until he could see the rooftops of some the buildings. At this point he was starting to panic, but he tried to calm himself down. He knew panicking was not an answer _Okay, just relax,_ he told himself. _There's no need to panic, every now and then a young kit soars off the ground._ He tried to make himself laugh, but he just couldn't. He looked and realized how high he was, and started to fall down at a rapid rate. He closed his eyes waiting for him to hit the ground when, about two inches from the pavement, he abruptly was brought to a halt. He stopped falling and stood there levitating only two inches from the safe ground. His paws still dangling and barely touching the pavement by the claw.

He took a breath and brought himself back down to the ground. _Wow! What a night!_

* * *

Walking up to the front door of his home, Nick was still trying to comprehend what just happened. First came the Ranger Scouts incident, then the crystal and finally being in flight. It all just seemed unreal for all that to happen, as if it were one long and strange dream to him. Not only was it hard for him to acknowledge, but it was even harder to think how his mom would ever believe a story like that. Nick always had a big imagination, so his mother would obviously just assume that this was just one of silly stories. Only this time it wasn't, and he would make sure that he was as truthful as he could be. Even if the truth involved being swept off the ground by some strange green, shiny crystal. After knocking and realizing that the door was unlocked for him, he made his way inside to let his mother know everything.

"Honey," his mother called out. "What are you doing back already?"

"It's kind of a long story," he started. "But whether you want to believe it all or not, it's all true. Where do I start? Oh yeah, first off the other kids wouldn't let me join."

His mother felt something when he said that to her, she knew that had practically talked about the Ranger Scouts for as long as she could remember. "Why ever not?" she asked him.

He began to explain to her how some of the other kids were not being nice to him all because he was a fox.

"Oh honey, that's just wrong! If anything, everyone knows that you're a nice and trustworthy kid."

"But don't worry about that momma, it got better though. As I was walking down the road there was this big green rock in the middle of the street. So I went over to take a look at it, long story short the rock literally knocked me off my paws and when I got up the next time I flew!"

His mother simply stared at him for a few seconds before going into a little spree of laughter. "Oh Nicholas, you and those silly stories! It wouldn't shock me if you became a writer with the imaginative little mind of yours"

"But mom, believe it or not I'm telling the truth. Cross my heart, there was a green stone and I was taken from off the ground!"

"You literally want me to believe that? Sorry honey, that story made me laugh but I don't think that it actually happened"

"Come on mom, we gotta go outside right now and I'm gonna show ya that I really could fly!"

He took her by the paw and marched straight outside to the driveway of their home. She knew in her head that she was just wasting her time outside, but if her son wanted her to see something (whether it was real or unreal) she would go with him. Nick went clear to the very end of the driveway and started running up real fast, when he got closer to his mother and jumped up bt this time landed flat on the ground. _Come on,_ he thought, _I know it_ _happened once and it needs to happen again!_

He started to run back and forth, seeing if he could possibly take off again, but each time he ended up failing.

"Come on honey," his mother called out. "It's getting late and I don't think that-"

That was all she could say when, on his fifth try, Nick actually began to rise above the pavement and soar into the air above her. She couldn't believe her eyes! It would take practice to master his new ability, but little did Nick know he would grow up to become WildeFlyer!


	3. ZJL Origins - Elasti-Zelle

**Author's Note: Hey guys! I'm back with another origin story chapter. I was originally going to do Judy's first but I'm still working on that one, so instead I'm doing the origins of Gazelle (A.K.A. Elasti-zelle). Hope you guys enjoy this!**

* * *

Deep within a distant galaxy, there was a planet by the name of Kavio. The land was peaceful, the air was clean and the water was as clear as could be. In fact, many compared in quality to the planet earth that animals lived on. Many thought it possible to live on Kavio based on how prosperous the planet was.

On the planet there lived a group of aliens known as the Kilvis. They may have extraterrestrial DNA, but in form they all have the resemblance of the gazelle. They even spoke the same language as mammals did on earth! The Kilvis were well-cultured, peaceful and were known to have a great passion for music and dance. Almost every day, they would celebrate by playing their instruments and singing.

Gianna (who we now know of as Gazelle) since a very young age has been in love with their native celebrations, and couldn't wait until the day she could join in on their singing.

But one day... As the usual celebrations were carrying on, the sky started to blacken over them. The ground started to vigorously. Gianna fell flat onto the ground from the movement, she looked on to the horizon to see what was going on. She didn't have any words to say, she could only sit there with her mouth hanging wide open. Her face had a mixture of both awe and complete fear. Kavio as she knew it was being sucked into a black hole.

Her mother came and swept her up in her arms as her family ran away from the sight of the destruction.

"Get her to the escape pod!" Gianna's father said.

And so Gianna was nestled in her mother's arms ran forward towards a red rock with a steel gray door, as they approached the door instantly opened. Inside this rock was actually a room full of science. She located the escape pod and placed little Gianna inside. Within seconds, she zipped out into space, heading on a course for earth. Thanks to her mother's brave actions, she was the last of the Kilvis of Kavio. And little did she know that when she reached Zootopia, she would become Gazelle, an adored pop star.

* * *

 **Many years later...**

After the concert was over, Gazelle took a break in her own private quarters. As she sat down at the table to catch her breath, she noticed something strange in the corner of her eye. There was a pink crystal shining on her right side. _Huh, that's strange! Wonder where this came from,_ she thought, _It sure is pretty though, looks like rose quartz_

The bright gleam of pink seemed to call her over to the other side of the room. So she walked over to where the crystal was sitting and cupped it in her hands. The pretty fuchsia-colored light was shining from the middle of the crystal. "Wow" was all she could say.

She proceeded to go back to her table when all of a sudden the crystal shone a bright white light. She quickly dropped it from her hands

"Woah! What the heck?" she said

The now white crystal, now showing no sign of once being pink, lifted from off the ground. All that Gazelle could do was stare with her mouth agape. _Please tell me I'm dreaming!_

A pink beam blasted through the crystal and landed right on her. The beam grew until it was covering Gazelle's entire body. She wasn't sure what was going on nor did she know what to think about all this, but the beam seemed to cover her entire body. She ran towards a mirror and looked at her reflection, all of her fur was bright pink. Not only that, but her horns and hooves now looked lavender.

"Aaaah!" she shouted as she got a look at herself. She ran away from the mirror, hoping she was just seeing things and that she wasn't pink.

Another bright beam of white light shone and all of a sudden the crystal disappeared. _Okay, I don't know what just happened but everything seems to be back to normal._

She looked again into the mirror, she looked like her normal self. Her fur was no longer pink. She crashed onto the floor feeling drained from all of whatever it was that just happened.

Gazelle had just been through of craziness in the past few minutes, but now she was thirsty. The water bottle was sitting on the top of the table. She didn't want to get up from where she was laying down but knew the bottle was too far of a reach. She reached out her arm anyway and noticed that it seemed to stretch out. Whether she could believe it or not, her arm literally stretched out to the top of the table, grabbed the bottle and retracted back to its normal position. She could not believe her eyes, _Did my arm really just do that?_

And so a new part of her life unfolded before her after she was given an elastic body. She never thought she would gain fame as a pop singer, and she definitely never would have suspected to become a superhero. So now she is a star by day, but when trouble is afoot she is Elast-Zelle!


	4. ZJL Origins - ZipPaw

**Author's Note: Whew! It's been awhile since I've updated this story.** **So sorry for the delay, had some writer's block while trying to figure out a good idea for this. Anyways,** **I'm back with the origins of Judy Hopps (A.K.A. ZipPaw). Just to clarify, wanted to make note that this origin of course is under the premise that Judy was still young when she got the powers. I hope you guys enjoy it :)**

* * *

 _Wonder what's going on_ , she thought to herself, _better go check it out._

The young Judy Hopps was running along to see what it was her friends were up to. From a distance she could see her two sheep friends, Shana and Gareth, as well as some other kids from around the neighborhood. Some of them were running in place while some looked as if they were doing stretches in some sort of warm up.

"Hey guys!" she said "So what's everybody doing?"

"Just getting ready," Shana replied "we're having a race."

"Sounds like fun, can I join with you guys?"

"Sure!" Gareth chimed in "Matter of fact, we were wonderin' if you'd join in on the fun."

"Alright guys! Judy's in the race!" exclaimed one of the kids holding a handmade flag. Everybody was smiling and excited to have some fun this afternoon. But that was interrupted when they heard a voice was unfortunately too familiar from behind them.

"Outta my way!" said Gideon Grey, shoving some his way through some of the children. Most of the children weren't really fond about Gideon and his friends. Paws down, he was one of the most unlikable critters in Bunnyburrow. "So what are all of you losers up to?"

"For your information, we're having a race" replied Judy "but no one asked you to join."

Gideon and his friend started to snicker. "A race you say? Well whether y'all like it or not, I'm a part of it now! It's not like any of you slow pokes got the paws to outrun me."

The kid with the flag rolled his eyes at the thought Gideon and his friends ruining the fun. "Alright everyone, get ready. The object is simple, who lever gets to the opposite side of the field is the winner." he shouted.

Inside Judy knew this was just a friendly race, but whenever Gideon came into the scene, it always becomes a competition. He would try everything to make sure he won, even if it meant playing unfairly. Everyone got in a line and got in position, looking like runners in the Olympics. Gideon started to laugh under his breath.

"You ready to get left in the dust? Huh, huh? Ya ready for the claws?" He began to tease. Most of the kids ignored him or rolled their eyes at his teasing.

"Ready... Set... GO!"

With those words, the flag waved and the children took off. Everybody was running at a steady pace, most of them only a few inches from each other. Gideon, of course, was pushing and shoving his way through so he could get to first place. Soon he was in front and farther away from the rest of them, his tail swishing back and forth. "Ha, slow pokes! My paws are burnin' baby!" he exclaimed with self-pride written all over him.

No one really cared if Gideon was only doing this to show off, because all of the other kids were having a good time playing. Soon Judy and Shana made their way up towards Gideon, they knew of course that they wouldn't catch him. Judy ran up a little faster but soon found herself falling flat on her face.

Apparently, a rock was sticking out within the thicker grass of the field, she did not quite see it and that is what made her trip. She eventually got back up and made her way to the finish line with some of the others. Gideon was, unfortunately, the winner of the race. He was pumping his fists with a wide smile across his face. _You wanna talk about self-pride!_ _He must feel really good right now,_ Judy thought.

"Give me some paw!" he said to one of his wolf pals as they were high-pawing and fist bumping each other filled with ego.

"I told you slow pokes I would win!" he continued "Especially against 'poky paws' over here who was clumsy enough to trip over a rock!" He was talking about Judy, pointing and making fun of her tripping episode. No one else was laughing though.

"Better give up on those cop dreams of yours, because how are you gonna chase bad guys down at that speed?" said one of Gideon's pals.

"Hey, you need to stop! It wasn't her fault that a rock was in the path!" Shana said

"Whatever," Gideon replied "C'mon guys, let's go"

* * *

 **Later that evening...**

The sun was beginning to set over Bunnyburrow, painting the sky with a beautiful orange glow. Judy was looking onto the horizon as she finished up tending for her family's carrot farm. The farm ran in her family for a long time, but Judy knew that was not quite what she wanted to do when she grew up. In her mind, she knew that she wanted to become a police officer, despite what others thought about it, but it seemed like a distant goal. _I guess I'm gonna be stuck carrot farming until I grow old,_ she thought. She began to reflect on what her parents, Bonnie and Stu, had told her...

 _"There's never been a bunny cop, bunnies don't do that"_

 _"You wanna make the world a better place? No better way to do that than carrot farming!"_

The words of Gideon and his friends also started to echo inside...

 _"Better give up on those cop dreams of yours"_

In her heart Judy knew exactly what she wanted to be, whether anybody liked it not. _Judy Hopps is going to be a cop_ she proclaimed to herself. She walked on home as the sky started to darken around her. Little did she know that something extraordinary would happen that night. Something that changed the course of her life forever!

* * *

After a few moments of tossing and turning in bed, Judy found a comfortable position and went to sleep. As she started to drift off to sleep, a dream slowly started to take form...

 _It was a bright afternoon, and Judy was walking towards what looked like a lake. She got closer to it and decided to take a seat on the grass that was slightly above the water. In the distance she could hear the sounds of the children playing, she also saw in the corner of her eye Gideon and his gang walking on the path. She turned away to ignore them and stared at her reflection in the water. She placed a paw into the cool water, making a continuous ripple in her reflection. Suddenly she heard a voice on her right that startled her a little._

 _"I see that something is upsetting you" it called out._

 _She quickly turned her head to see who or what said that. An old and tall gray rabbit was walking up towards her._

 _"Nothing's wrong, sir" Judy said_

 _"You can't fool me" the old rabbit replied "I can tell that something seems to be troubling you. So what's seems to be the matter?"_

 _"I've got these dreams inside that I want to make come true when I grow up, but no one seems to think I can do it. I want to become a police officer one day, but it seems impossible to everyone. Especially this fox named Gideon, he's not very nice about it. He tends to make fun of me and keeps telling me to give up. I try to ignore him most of the time, but sometimes I wonder if he's right."_

 _"I see what you mean" the old rabbit said. "Not everyone is going to have the same thoughts as you when it comes to goals. But I'm telling you, no matter how unattainable it seems to other people, don't give up on your goals! Maybe you might even achieve something way beyond your imagination. Sometimes it don't seem easy, but anything's possible when you put your mind to it. Heck, I could become an astronaut if I tried hard enough!"_

 _Judy let out a laugh at his little joke._

 _"But anyway," he continued "I came over to see you because I wanted to give you something that will help you on your way."_

 _The old rabbit reached into his pocket and pulled out what appeared to a dark blue stone. He placed in Judy's hands._

 _"A rock?" Judy replied "How's this little blue rock gonna help me achieve my goals?_

 _"Ah, it looks like a little ol' rock at the moment" he replied "but sooner or later you'll see it's more than just that! Consider it a gift from me to you."_

 _Judy laughed under her breath, she wondered if he was just trying to be funny with her._

 _"I'm serious" he continued "like I've said before, when you believe in yourself, you get what you wish for and more. And believe it or not, that rock will help you get there. It will give you power you didn't think you could get! So make sure you keep it safe now, Judy."_

 _She kept the rock clenched in her paw and proceeded to get up and walk back home. But there was something she had to say to him, she was wondering how he knew who she was._

 _"Wait, sir, how did you know my-"_

 _But when she turned around, she noticed that he was gone. She could have sworn that he was just sitting down a few seconds ago. How did he just disappear like that? And more importantly, what was so important about this tiny blue rock?_

* * *

Judy slowly opened her eyes, realizing that it was still dark outside she assumed it was still late at night. She checked at what the alarm clock said: 4:25 A.M. _Man, that was one strange dream,_ she thought.

She got back on her side tried to go back to sleep, but all of a sudden she heard a faint yet surprising noise. It sounded as if something dropped onto the floor, so she decided that she probably needed to get up and investigate what it was. _Probably nothing too major,_ she thought.

Still half asleep, she stepped out of bed and quietly crept to where she thought the noise came from. It sounded as if it came from the other corner of her room. Not wanting to disturb anybody (considering what time it was), she was stepping as light as her paws could go on the floor. She took a couple steps closer to the corner and she felt like she stepped on something. When she accidentally stepped on it, it loudly slid across towards her bedside. _So much for trying to be quiet!_

She quickly yet quietly got back into her bed and covered back up in her sheets, waiting to see if she disturbed anyone with the noise. After a minute of silence, she knew that she was in the clear. _My family must be heavy sleepers,_ she joked to herself.

Judy proceeded to reach out and grab whatever this mystery object was. In her paws she held it, from she felt it was pointed yet smooth. Becoming a little more curious about it, she put it under the little gleam that her night-light gave her. She got a closer look at it and soon was at a loss for words. Somehow she was holding in her paws the same rock that was in her dream.

 _Oh my gosh!,_ she thought, _This stone looks exactly like the one that old rabbit gave to me in it. How is this possible? It can't be_ _, that was just a dream!_

She got back into her bed with the stone firmly in her hands. It was not like she was going to ever get back to sleep, but she could at least sit down and figure all of this out. The scene of her dream was replaying inside her mind. She was trying to remember what he said about the stone when he gave it to her. She slowly started to remember...

 _Believe it or not, that rock will help you get there. It will give you power you didn't think you could get!_

She began to wonder what exactly he meant by that. In the dream they were talking about goals and believing that they can be accomplished, but she was not quite sure what it meant by the rock giving her power.

 _What does that even mean?,_ she wondered, _Like this rock is gonna give me superpowers or something?_

Judy kept it close to her as she once again tried to close her eyes and go back to bed. Even an hour longer would be nice, she wanted it at least be long enough to go back into her dream and ask that old rabbit a couple questions. But, of course, something happened that stopped her from drifting off again. She could see a bright flash of light that seemed shine in her eyes even though they were closed. She opened them back up and was about blinded by how bright the stone started to shine. With squinted eyes, she looked down at her paw that she was holding the stone in. As she held it, the stone gradually started to feel lighter and lighter. Eventually, it felt as if she were holding to a tiny little pebble. If it was not for the light, she would not have known that she was holding onto something. The light then grew darker and eventually dissipated into nothing. Judy could not believe her own eyes, she was not even quite sure if she was actually awake and not in another crazy dream. She started to wiggle her paw around, she could no longer feel the stone. Judy rubbed her eyes and sat upright on the side of her bed.

 _Give it a moment,_ she thought, _at this rate something else will probably happen_

And something else did happen! She saw another light, only this one was not blinding in brightness. She looked down at where this light was now coming from. Her paws were now shining an icy blue color! _What the heck? What is happening to me? And couldn't this wait until morning?_

She looked at her feet as well to realize that they were also shining this strange blue color. Her feet now seemed to be kicking back and forth, as if she were running in place. They started to pick up speed until they were so fast that they were blurry in her vision. Her face now had a look of shock all over it as she backed up on her bed, her feet still going crazy. The icy blue started to get deeper in pigment and fade away, her legs started to calm down as well. Soon, they stopped kicking uncontrollably. She stared back at her paw, the blue that use to be there was now fading away. At this point, Judy was exhausted from all of what she just witnessed and fell straight asleep.

* * *

 **The next day...**

It was just another sunny afternoon, and Judy was walking around to relieve some of her boredom. The memories of the strange things that happened the night were a little fuzzy, yet very much still buzzing around in her head. She decided to pick up her pace and run instead of walking. She started to pick up speed and launched into a sprint. It seemed ordinary but when after only sprinting a few yards... ZOOM!

She started to run at a speed that seemed impossible, her legs just as fast as they were going the other night. Only this time, she could feel it in action as she brushed passed the grass and dirt, dodging trees as she carried on. She was wondering if she'd ever stop. She started to think about it and suddenly she just came to a screeching halt, almost losing her balance on the stop. Her heartbeat was going crazy, she could not believe she just did that. She heard a couple voices as she tried to catch her breath, one of which that she could make out belonged to Gideon. They were coming down the path to where she was standing.

"Well, we were just talking about you." he said "So what's goin' on there Poky Paws? See you're over here breaking a sweat, didn't think you were capable of running too fast without finding a couple tripping hazards."

The memory of her in the race gave Judy a quick idea!

"Hey Gideon?" she said "Would you consider a rematch race today?"

"Ha! You're wastin' your time! But if you really wanna do this, I suppose so. Although I doubt you're gonna beat me at it, unless you got some kind of jet pack"

Gideon let out a snicker along with his friends.

* * *

A little bit later, they met up at the same place they had the first race. This time the race consisted of Judy, Gideon and his two wolf and weasel friends. Shana and Gareth watched Judy from behind as they all got in position to start.

"Ready...Set...Go!"

Gideon and his friends rocketed out into the field, but Judy just stood there in position, not moving a muscle. They started to get a very big lead ahead of her, which made Shana and Gareth question what was happening.

"Judy?" Shana said "You realize Gideon is taking the lead?"

"Yeah, Judy" Gareth chimed in "What's goin' on? You're not movin' an inch!"

Judy started to run out into the field, thinking about how fast she went just a moment ago. Suddenly, she started to pick up speed like last time, and ZOOM! She started speed across the field passing up the wolf, weasel and finally Gideon. He could not believe what he was seeing, he started to slow down and just stare at Judy with his mouth agape.

"See ya at the finish line!" she said as she jumped over where she tripped before. After she landed back on her feet she speeded up again all the way to the finish line. Her days as "Poky Paws" were now officially over, Matter of fact, this would all eventually be silly memory when she grew up to become more than just a police officer. She became ZipPaw of the Zootopia Justice League!

* * *

 **Author's Note: Alright folks! What did ya think of that? I tried to make this one a little bit longer than the rest of them. Please review this chapter and let me know what you thought of it. See ya next time when I do Bogo's origin story. Bye! :)**


	5. ZJL Origins - Bogo The Great

_Alright, here we go,_ Bogo thought as he took a seat on the stool in the middle of the small stage. If there was something that most people didn't know about him, it was that he had a strange passion for music. A desire to have people hear him play. While he was always focused, no-nonsense kind of person, Bogo always seemed so care-free when it came to the music. That meant that tonight was going to fill him joy, considering it was his first time he was playing in front of an audience. While it was very small at the evening's open mic, he just hoped they would enjoy it. Sure, he played in the company of friends and family, but this was entirely different.

Tonight he would be performing an instrumental song, which meant he wouldn't be singing this time. It made him a little nervous because, despite not having the perfect voice, Bogo preferred songs with words. He has been playing guitar for quite some time now (and taught himself everything he knows about it), but every once in awhile there came a time where he made a mistake in the middle of a song. If he was singing a song and only playing a few chords, maybe he could roll with it and make it sound as if nothing happened. His singing, for instance, could make one forget that he was perhaps playing the chord differently. But this instrumental song was different. Since it would be more intricate on how he switched chords and plucked the strings, a mistake would definitely be noticeable. And if the strings buzzed out as he played (which has annoyingly happened to him many times), it would not go over well.

 _Just relax,_ he told himself, _there's nothing to worry about. You'll do fine!_

He simply took a deep breath out and started to play. The place went quiet as he began to play and create a melody on the guitar. The first two minutes of the song went by so quickly, in fact, despite being his first time, it was actually going quite well. Bogo simply carried on with a little smile across his face, his hooves gliding gently across the frets of his guitar. This was a happy moment for him, it made him feel great inside to play for others.

 _Okay now,_ he began to tell himself, _C_ _oming up is the tricky part. But you got this! Just remember what you practiced._

Once he reached the three-minute mark of the song, he knew it was time for the finale. This part required him to do a fast strumming pattern. While it was only a few simple chords to hold, the hard part was strumming up and down at a fast pace. Bogo could clearly remembered all of the times he would mess up practicing this part, and how it seemed so simply yet so complicated. Eventually he did it correctly enough times that it came naturally, but playing for someone other than friends or family, he thought he was destined to do something wrong. He could only force in the back of his head the embarrassment of him doing something wrong after doing so good.

Please, he prayed silently in his mind, _Don't_ _let me mess this up!_

 _Oh well, here we go!_

And so he began playing the final part of the song. His strumming hand was going up and down so fast that they almost seemed to blur in his vision. It was the part that he liked to call the big finish, and so far he was doing perfect. All of the practice was paying off! Only two more chords to play and the song would be finished! _I can't believe it,_ Bogo thought, _It's going so well!_

The final switch of the song came. He switched to the next chord and continued to pick up speed in his strumming. He continued to strum, but when he went to strum down for the last time... _Buzz!_

He unfortunately heard the worst noise he could have heard during that time. Apparently, he was not holding the final chord properly, which caused the strings to buzz out like they did. His face changed from being filled with joy to embarrassment, mixed with a little bit of shock. _Man! That kinda ruined the performance!_

Bogo simply just got from off of the stool he was sitting and started to walk of the small stage. There was a small amount of applause from the people who listened to him perform. A bunch of questions started buzzing around inside of him: _Did they actually enjoy it, or are they just clapping to be friendly? Do you think they noticed that I screwed that up? Why did that have to happen at the very end, after doing so good?_

While it was not the worst that could have happened, Bogo just felt like that he had the potential of being so much better. Especially for his first performance in front of an audience.

* * *

 **Later that night...**

It was simply going to be another night of the same thing back in his home, only that he didn't know just yet that something would extraordinary occur. Bogo fumbled for his keys to unlock the door, and see the typical sights of his small yet tidy apartment once again. In he was honest with himself, he could literally make out every detail of the apartment with his eyes. The couch with a blanket hanging over the back that greeted him as he stepped inside. A small bookshelf in the corner with a neat stack of books sitting there untouched. The kitchen whose counters had nothing on them.

He walked over to the couch, set his guitar on the stand beside him and sat down. It was just another typical evening, but something was going to change all of it.

Bogo turned on the television to fill the room with noise and find something to relax to, but nothing seemed to hold his interest. So instead, he decided to pick up his guitar again and play another song.

Rather than properly using a pick like he always did, it was only him he was playing for tonight, so he simply used a hoof to pluck the strings. Soon that pleasurable feeling rushed over him as he started to play. He closed his eyes (since playing this many times made it possible to play without seeing) and put on a wide smile, letting the music take him on a journey. This was the feeling that music gave him. Even though he was always the get-it-done, don't-mess-around kind of person, the guitar made him feel so care-free. Like nothing else really mattered when he picked it up.

Bogo opened his eyes and stopped playing, setting his guitar down gently. Now he decided to play a different song, but this time he decided to strum with a pick. He shifted his body to the other side of the couch and saw something on the stand beside him that caught his eyes. He was not quite sure how to identify it. What looked like a flat, purple guitar pick was sitting on the stand. It seemed very odd, because he never remembered keeping a pick on that stand before.

Not only that was that strange, but it also seemed to glow with a faint purple light. Yet he pushed it aside and picked it up to use it. It was the shape and thins of an ordinary pick, but it had the texture of a crystal. He decided to strum a simple chord, it played just the way he wanted it to. Not only did it work, but at the same time, it seemed to play a different pitch upon strumming it again.

 _Huh, that's odd! Maybe I did something wrong._

Only he didn't. He kept the same position for the same chord and strummed again. It made an entirely different sound this time!

 _What is going on here?_

He just kept strumming up and down fatly, a new and unique sound coming out the guitar every time. It was indeed strange to him, yet at the same time very interesting to him.

 _Who knew? A guitar pick that has a mind of its own!_

He looked down at this hoof, the purple pick seemed to be disintegrating as he continued to strum. He stopped upon seeing this and just looked at his hoof in awe. The pick seemed to melt away into a soft, glowing light. It faded away until there was no sign of it being there anymore.

"Well that was weird" Bogo muttered to himself.

He looked back down at where the pick used to be. He noticed that around his hooves was some sort of light glowing, looking like he had purple bracelets on. It seemed to be hovering around them and looked like a flickering flame when he moved his hoof around.

"What the-"

There was just no words for this. He knew he had to be dreaming! So Bogo rushed to a bathroom and got a look in the mirror. He indeed had purple lights around his hooves. He indeed was awake, and he definitely was not dreaming!

"What is going on?" he yelled to his reflection in the mirror, "What have I done?"

Light glowing around him flickered and went away, dissipating away into a dark purple cloud. He was not quite sure what just happened, but in a way he was relieved that light was going to stay there forever. He could only imagine if it never went away, walking around with glowing hooves all the time. _Thank heavens that's not gonna happen,_ he thought.

Bogo turned out the bathroom light and proceeded to walk out to the living room again. But he found himself stumbling on something that was laying there on the floor. He tried to get his balance back, but instead found himself falling. As he was about to hit the ground, his hoof that was stretched out in front him lit up with a purple glow. He hit the floor hard, but all of a sudden something tremendous happened! When his hoof smacked the floor, the entire living room, as well as the rest of his apartment, shook around him. The floor from the where the front door seemed to perk up and move, like a wave in the ocean. It made its way across the living room clear to the other side of his apartment.

 _Am I really that strong?,_ Bogo thought.

He tried it again, not expecting the same thing to happen. But as soon as he slammed his arm down, sure enough, a smaller version of what happened rippled across the floor. He looked at his hoof and wiggled it around, looking in amazement that he had the ability to do something like that.

 _Hopefully that wave didn't stretch the neighbor's house,_ he joked to himself, _They wouldn't know what the heck happened._

While it would be hard to do, Bogo knew he had to put his guitar dreams behind him. While it could be a hobby, he knew with this power he had a bigger purpose. Many years later, he would be saying the day in Zootopia as Bogo The Great!

* * *

 **Author's Note: Okay folks, that wraps things up for this chapter!** **What do you think? Who would've thought Bogo had a music passion before this superhero origin? I actually know how to play guitar, so that's what inspired that part a little bit. I just think it would be funny to see Bogo playing a guitar.** **I admit this chapter's not the best , but I still hope you guys liked it anyway. Soon we'll get to see our heroes in action saving the day, it'll get more interesting when we get into that.** **Please review it and let me know what you think.** **Bye guys! :)**


	6. Bellwether Escaped!

As the figures of the two casually made their way up the sidewalk, a driving rainstorm begins to take form as they walk through the night. Reaching a lonely street light beside them, their faces started to become visible against the darkness. Stopping at this spot, the leaner of the two looked down at his phone. Upon unlocking it, he got another good look at the message that was left for him:

 _At the dark part of town, there's only one light. In the blackness, meet me at the lamppost tonight_

"I just don't get it!" he murmured to no one in particular, "Did she mean here? I mean, this is the dark part of town with one light. Hate how she had to send that out in a riddle!"

"She was always a big reader so she naturally thought of a riddle for this." said the other sheep beside him, joining in on the conversation. "And besides, it's probably written that way because she doesn't want this to look suspicious. Y'know what I'm saying? Anyway, I suppose this is where she meant. I mean, that is the only place that fits the description."

"Oh yeah, so us all coming together in the pitch black around a lamppost isn't suspicious? I don't know what to think, I'm just guessing we should turn around and-"

"Well, look who's here!" called out a woman's voice, interrupting his rant. "If it isn't my good friends, Doug and Jesse."

The voice was such a familiar sound to the two of them, one of which that hadn't heard in a long time. Matter of fact, they were even wondering if they would go on without ever hearing it again. The figure in which the words came from started to slowly move towards them, revealing the face they were certain they would never get to see. A sheep just like them arose her presence, wearing what seemed to be very worn out and bright orange clothing. They knew that this indeed was Dawn Bellwether! How she escaped they were both unsure of, but they did not need to worry about the details. They were just surprised that she was here in their sight again. She leaned up against the lamppost and looked at the other two sheep, ready to discuss her plans as the rain began to settle down.

"We thought for sure you would never escape" Jesse told her.

"Yeah!" Doug chimed in "We're not sure how ya did it, but it's good to have ya back."

"Yes, it's great to be back." Bellwether said with a wicked tone in her voice. "My fight is far from over, and the time is now to unleash my latest plot. They won't know what hit them!"

* * *

 **The next day...**

It was normal evening out for Nicholas Wilde. But then again, he knew that it probably would follow up with something that was a little bit out of the ordinary. If there was one thing he knew being a superhero, it was that at any given time something could pop up. Because of this need to be on a constant lookout, he never seemed to fully enjoy himself when he was out. Whenever it seemed to be what would be an ordinary night, he had to expect the unexpected.

 _Oh come on,_ he thought. _There hasn't been that much happening recently. Why are you so worried? Just enjoy the evening!_

For once, Nick was going to attempt to put all of the worries behind him and just enjoy the evening. So far it worked out in his favor, he managed to get through the appetizer and entree of his meal without having any concerns conjure in his mind. If he could get all the way to dessert without anything unusual happening, it would be a miracle. There has been a decrease in action for him and the rest of the team he fought crime with, the Zootopia Justice League. It almost seemed uncanny for nothing to be happening for such a long time, in his mind he assumed it was because someone was plotting something big.

The empty plates were being taken away and desserts were being ordered as he looked into the eyes of his crime-fighting partner, Judy Hopps. Normally, just looking into her eyes made all of that superhero stuff fade to gray in his mind. Nick did not need to worry about any of that right now, because this was about time he enjoyed himself. But unfortunately the concerns started to pile up inside. He clicked on the watch phone to make sure there was nothing he was missing out on, but it said there was no new messages. Normally if something were to strike, the watch would make a sound and he would get some kind of message from someone letting him know. Ever since there has been a shortage in commotion for him and the other members of the superhero league, he grew into a bad habit of constantly clicking the watch on to make sure there wasn't a message that he forgot to reply to. Judy looked up and saw what he was doing, to which he quickly looked back up and tried to look like he wasn't doing anything.

"Nick," Judy started to say "there's something wrong, isn't there?"

"Huh?" he replied with worry written all over him "No, there's nothing wrong. So anyway, did I tell you that you look wonderful tonight?"

"Don't try to change the subject, you know you can't fool me. I can just tell by the look in your eyes"

"For real, Fluff, there's nothing wrong"

"You just don't seem like you're having a good time. I notice you have that look almost every time we go out"

"It's just that it doesn't seem right!"

"What do you mean?"

"There's literally been no action going on in Zootopia, do you realize that? Zip! Nothing! So that obviously means that somewhere out there, somebody's planning something big. I just know it, Carrots, I'm sure of it!"

"Oh Nick, you're just paranoid."

"Paranoid? That's sugar-coating it! It's more like a million thoughts of what could possibly go wrong rushing through you all the time." Nick continued on rapidly while still trying to keep his voice down. "I mean think about it, our main goal here is protecting the citizens of Zootopia. And if we fail to do it, you know who's gonna be in trouble?"

"I know, Nick. But eventually, even if it's for a couple of hours, we all gotta take our load off and just relax. I get that this is all very stressful, being the salvation of our city and everything. But you gotta understand, when there's a day when there's no need to save the day, that means we can just be normal."

"Ha! When I was a kid, I miraculously got powers from a crystal that showed up from heaven knows where, and so did you. How exactly do you suggest trying to being normal?"

While Nick was occupied in his rambling, Judy turned her head and looked over in the distance. The waiter was approaching their table with their desserts, finally ending Nick's worries. Sinking his teeth into it, he could feel for just a moment the troubles floating away. The euphoria from the cake he was eating completely changed his face from being full of worry to complete tranquillity.

 _Funny how dessert can change one's mood,_ Judy thought.

"Well, that hit spot!" he remarked with a completely happy mood written all over him.

"Oh, so all we needed was a little cake to calm you down" she joked.

"Yeah, I guess so. Anyway, what's next on the agenda? Since you said we can just be normal and all."

"Don't know, but I think I've got an idea for tomorrow. That is if the call for justice to be served doesn't affect our plans. How 'bout a movie?"

"Sounds like a plan! So what are we gonna see?"

"I've got the perfect one for tomorrow. It's been on my mind to see since I first saw the trailer for it."

 _This outta be good,_ Nick thought sarcastically. _You know every time she finds one to see, it's always one of those sappy flims._

* * *

 **One day later...**

The film was just about to reach its end, and the two of them were practically glued to the story. As much as he did not want to admit it in front of Judy, Nick was actually really into the story this movie was telling. Even though this kind of romantic movie was not his preference, he was undoubtedly pleased by what he was seeing. Although this scene was a little hard to watch at the time, he had his eyes fixed on that film like nothing even mattered.

In the movie, there was this romantic connection between this boy who was a loner and a girl who was combating a strange illness. At this point of the show, things were starting to look pretty sad, and the boy was beginning to tear up as she let out this monologue of feelings for him. Caught up in all of the emotions that were in this scene, Nick started to get tears in his eyes as well. Putting his face in his paws he started to cry and sniffle uncontrollably at what he was hearing.

 _No,_ he thought inside, _I understand this is all just a movie but it shouldn't be this way! That girl needs to be alive, she loves him and he loves her!_

He picked up his face and looked over at Judy, who sat there watching as if she was prepared for what the story was bringing. She barely even flinched at the drama, the only sign that she was caught in the emotions was a single streak of a tear. She looked back at Nick and let out a tiny, silent laugh at him. He was now starting to feel embarrassed, but he could not help it that he reacted this way.

"Nick, you're crying, aren't you?" she quietly asked him.

"N-No" he replied, sniffling from his embarrassing reaction. "I-It's just the brightness of the screen making my eyes water, just pay attention to t-the movie."

She smiled at him and rested her paw in his, this was the first she ever saw him this way. _Man,_ Nick thought, _I first thought bunnies were the ones that were so emotional. Wonder if she's thinking something similar about me._

* * *

"So it was the brightness of the screen, as well as the fact that I wasn't really blinking that caused my eyes to water and get red. And I'm telling you that it was not tears!"

Nick was still trying to come up with a good excuse for why he hysterically cried at the ending of the movie, but Judy was still not buying any of it. The two of them were walking back to his home as they continued this debate.

"Maybe" she said back to him. "Or perhaps it's because you have a soft and sweet side."

"No, Carrots! I'm telling you, I don't get emotional over things, and besides that was just a movie"

"Admit it, Nick. You were crying at the fact that he lost the love of his life. How she was having a love for him but never had the time to fully let him know that he was very special to her."

"Okay, Fluff!" he said back getting choked up again "You win, I didn't think that's how it should've went down in that movie. It could've been so much happier if you ask me. Let's not bring that up again, alright?"

"No promises, anyway I guess I'll see ya around!"

* * *

 **Later that evening...**

Nick was in bed getting ready to call it a night. There was barely anything good on television as he set upright flicking through all of the channels. As he continued to search for something that would keep him interested, the trailer for the movie came on. It began to show tidbits of the boy and girl together, as well as a line from one of the girl's final quotes. It made Nick sad for a quick second before he turned the television off, got on his side and tried to drift off to bed. He began to wonder: _Why is this movie having such an impact on me?_

But it was about time for him to stop thinking and go off into a deep sleep. It was all working quite well for him, a dream was starting to take form inside his mind. He was sitting out side in what looked like some kind of garden. He was walking around, and...

 _BEEP! BEEP!_

The sound startled him out of what was going to be a peaceful dream, looking at his nightstand he noticed it was coming from the watch phone. It said that there was an incoming call from Bogo. He pressed on the screen to accept the call.

"Yeah, what is it?" he answered in a very tired and disembodied voice.

"Nick," Bogo began, "we've got some very interesting news and I believe you need to know right away!"

"Okay, but do you even realize what time it is? You can tell me tomorrow and let me get back to my dreaming"

"No, Nicholas! This is very serious information and I believe that you need to hear it now!"

"Alright, what is it?"

"We're not even sure how to put it all together, but I'll tell you what we know so far. You remember Dawn Bellwether, the sheep who was responsible for all of the mayhem in Zootopia with the night-howlers?"

"It's pretty hard to forget that."

"Well, I believe I've got bad news regarding that. Nick... Bellwether escaped"

"SHE ESCAPED?" Nick shouted back over the phone. What he thought would never happen is finally happening. "Tell me that I'm dreaming!"

"Afraid not, she somehow managed to escape and we believe she's obviously up to no good, maybe something even bigger than her last scheme. Anyway, just make sure you and Judy meet up at the headquarters tomorrow night, okay?"

"Okay, but wait-" Nick began to say back in panic, but realized that the call ended. So much for his worrying about how someone was planning something big, and how there was barely any cases to crack. One of the worst things the Zootopia Justice League took on was Bellwether, and now Nick could only imagine what other evil plans she could possibly have. _Just wait until Judy gets a load of this!_

* * *

 **Author's Note: Hey everyone! Whew, It's been awhile since I've been on here, but anyway I'm back. I apologize for such a delay on this, it took a lot longer than it should have. But anyway, I'm back and here to write about our super heroes in action.** **So... What did you think of this so far? Let me know what you think about it and I'll be back again real soon!**


	7. A Plan Emerges

"Police have reported that Dawn Bellwether, the one responsible for wrecking havoc on Zootopia not long ago with the night-howler incident has escaped" said the reporter on the television. "Warnings have already been issued and a dragnet has already been set in hopes of finding Bellwether. Citizens of Zootopia are advised that if they see the fugitive not to approach her and contact authorities immediately. She has the potential of being extremely dangerous."

"And that's why we're on the case!" said Nick to himself as he watched the screen. The very next night after Nick received word from Bogo, the news began putting out the reports with the headline _"Bellwether Escaped"_. But he knew that when it came to receiving word about what might be lurking in the city, he and the other members of the ZJL always had information first. He felt that it was about time to perhaps call Judy and let her know that they needed to run to headquarters to discuss this matter. He turned on his watch phone and dialed her number as quick as he could. After about ten seconds, he started to assume that it was ringing on her end when suddenly... _Zip!_

Right before Nick's eyes, Judy abruptly appeared right inside of his living room, startling him in a way.

"Nick, I came as soon as I got the call!" she said in a very rapid voice. He simply sat there still in a little bit of shock and clicked off the call from his phone.

While Judy's main power was super speed, she also received the power of teleportation as well. That gave her the advantage of getting where she needed to go as quickly as possible.

"Y'know" he replied "if you're gonna teleport your way over, at least give me a head's up! That about scared the life outta me!"

"Yeah, that look on your face was pretty funny. Remember that one time I pranked you with this? If I remember correctly I-"

"Oh come on, Fluff! You're never gonna let me live that one down, are ya?"

"Alright, sorry for bringin' it up again. But you have to admit, your reaction that day was unforgettable."

"This isn't the time for that, Carrots! We need to get down to headquarters as soon as possible, Bogo gave me some very crazy news the other night. I assume you're aware that-"

"Bellwether escaped?" she interrupted "Yeah, Bogo already informed me on that one too."

"I mean, out of all the things we've taken on, it had to be Bellwether to make the comeback? Heaven knows what she's up to this time!"

* * *

 **Meanwhile...**

"I haven't seen this place in so long" Dawn was saying to herself. "I almost didn't recognize it."

The building inside looked completely run-down and abandoned. It was as if the entire place was quarantined because there was nothing but a few chairs remaining. Dawn took a deep breath in as she followed Doug and Jesse inside. Now that she was free, it felt good to take in the view of this place. This was her headquarters, and even though she was partially angry at how the place was completely tarnished from when she was caught, it was still great to be back. Because for her, this was not the end. A new plot was unraveling in her mind, and today was going to be the day she unleashes it.

"Geez, this place is a dump!" Doug cried.

"Yeah" chimed in Jesse. "What ever happened to this place? I mean it's your headquarters after all so-"

"What do you two imbeciles think happened to it?" she interrupted as she kicked something that was laying on the floor. She set herself on one of the abandoned chairs that were still in the building and made herself comfortable. After what previously happened, it made her feel good to be in charge once again

"It's all thanks to that stupid Zootopia Justice League!" she continued "When they caught me for the night-howlers, about everything that I had going for me was confiscated."

"Wait" Jesse asked abruptly "You said 'about everything' was gone. What do you mean? From what it looks like, there's not a single thing in here. Thought for sure they removed every little thing"

"And that is where they were wrong, Jesse. Check this out for yourself!"

He walked over with Bellwether to where a counter stood in the middle of the space. "Wow!" he joked "It's a counter! Can't believe they actually kept that when they confiscated everything."

"It's not the counter, you idiot!" she snapped, sending a slap to Jesse's face. "It's what is hidden by the counter that makes all the difference."

"I'm not following" he replied, seeming a little confused at how she was putting things.

"Of course you don't! That's the reason you guys are just my minions, and why I'm in charge around here. Anyway, during the night-howler incidents, I got word from Doug that Judy and that dumb fox were causing trouble in the lab. So that's when I alerted you and Woolter for back-up, you do remember that, don't you?"

"The memories of that are still kinda fuzzy."

It was true, in that moment when Nick and Judy were taking over the train, something happened to Jesse. While he could not really remember anything from that time, he remembered brawling with the heroes to prevent the night-howlers from getting it into their paws. But the last thing his brain acknowledged was Judy kicking him from behind, being flung to back of the train car and bumping his head very badly. From there, everything was a blur. Woolter escaped the moving train with Jesse, who of course was in no condition to acknowledge that anything was happening. If anything else went down beyond that point, Jesse was not around to see it. In the end, it was only Doug that came with Bellwether to attempt at settling things. While it did not go according to plan, Jesse still wished he was there to witness it and not unconscious.

"Anyhow," Dawn carried on "several moments later Doug and I arrived at the Natural History Museum, thinking that things were going my way for once. I thought for sure I could make that fox go savage and attack Judy, but those idiots fooled me! So after that, the whole crew of the Zootopia Justice League was on our tails."

"And then?"

"Well, what do you think happens next? The ZJL saved the day, I'm defeated and my plans are foiled. Or so they think!"

"W-what do you mean? There's more to that?"

"Of course there is! You seriously didn't think it ended happily ever after, did you? When I knew that I was about to be defeated, I put my second plan into action. I used my communicating device that I had on me, and sneakily sent out an alert to my dear friend Gloria. From that moment on, she proceeded to put the rest of the steps into action and get things prepared for when I made my escape. And that, my friend, is what I'm about to let you both in on!"

"Wait a minute!" Doug shouted "You said something 'bout someone named Gloria. Who the heck is she?"

"Yeah!" Jesse said, also feeling a little let down at not knowing about what Bellwether was talking about. "Who is she and why did we never meet her?"

"Gloria is someone I hold dearest to me" Dawn explained. "Like me, she has plans just waiting to be unraveled on the citizens of Zootopia. She's also a supplier of some pretty cool gadgets, most of which she builds herself. However, she prefers to stay extremely private and only keeps contact with only a few trustworthy acquaintances, so that's why you've never met her. She doesn't just let anyone wander on her property, that is without consequences."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Oh trust me, she's not someone you want to mess with. If you step into her place without her consent, believe me when I say you'll be in great danger."

"So how did you ever get to make friends with Gloria, being as crazy as you say she is?"

"Easy! We were practically on the same team, having the exact same views. And I knew that I couldn't put my plans into work all by myself, so that's where she came into play."

Bellwether continued to give a brief explanation about Gloria, Doug and Jesse simply sat there and listened attentively. They were beginning to feel a little let down by the fact that she had communications with someone they never got to see. It seemed unfair to them, considering that they were all similar in their plans of domination. A hint of jealousy was forming inside the two of them, so they tried to interrupt the discussion of Gloria and go back to taking about what the plot was.

"Alright, enough with Gloria! Can we please get back to what it was that you letting us in on?"

"Oh yes, it was some time after my plans were foiled. Of course they were cleaning my headquarters, which included all of the gadgets I had in here. So that's what I made sure I said when I sent the alert out to Gloria, I let her know that-"

"Could've bet money that Gloria was there! Again, what is so special about her being on your team? Why in the world is she involved in every part of-"

"Just be quiet and let me tell the story! Now as I was saying, I used my device and sent out the message, letting her know that they were probably coming for everything. We have a secret code that only we can interpret, so I knew that it wouldn't look like anything uncanny was happening. As they were finishing up, she came in unseen and hid something that is very important."

Bellwether started to fumble through all of the compartments before finally finding what she was looking for. Although the compartment looked completely bare, it was hinted that something was hidden within it. Way in the back, an arrow pointing up was scribbled, implying that the hidden object was out of sight. She reached in until she grasped something and pulled it out. What rested in her hands was a box, the exact same color of the compartment so that it blended in. The box was small yet surprisingly weighed more than she thought it would. She opened it up and saw that there was something inside wrapped in white tissue paper, probably to keep it from getting damaged. Unwrapping all the paper, she started to see what was hidden. It looked like it was some kind of metallic pendant, completely silver with what seemed like a turquoise button in the center of it. Bellwether pulled it out of the box and realized there was more than one, underneath was two more of the exact same object. On the bottom of it all was a small piece of paper, unfolding it she read aloud what was written:

 _Dawn,_

 _If you found this box, then everything is going according to what you planned. Inside this box you'll find three identical pendants. One of which you will use and the other two will serve as a back-up if anything were to happen to the other one. They look like an ordinary pendant, but make no mistake. These were actually the result of an experiment I've worked on with some of my latest technology. If you wear this, you will be able to take on any shape or form, making it possible for you to prevent any suspicion. It's amazing what modern technology can do! Now that you found this, please contact me immediately, and if you can use the pendant and make your way over to me. As I said before, these were part of an experiment, so I can't make any promises. Hope everything goes well and best of luck to you!_

* * *

 _"_ Well isn't that neat?" Doug said after she got done reading the note. "You're saying that this little thing can change us?"

"Yeah, how exactly does it work?" Jesse said chiming in. "It makes you shape-shift or something? But I thought that's impossible!"

Bellwether let out a little snicker as she held the pendants. "You guys crack me up. Didn't she just say that anything is possible with modern technology?"

She put the pendant around her neck, set the two back-ups aside and stood in front of the two of them. She started to think about what animal's form she wanted to take in order to try this out. From what was written in the note, she could assume that she probably had to have something in mind. There was no given instructions on how to use, so Bellwether just began to get an idea. The first thing that entered her head was Judy, so she simply started to repeating her name in her mind over and over. It started to make her feel angry inside to be picturing her. _Curse her,_ she thought. _If it wasn't for ZipPaw and all the other fools over at the ZJL, I would have Zootopia in my clutches!_

The image of the bunny was becoming more and more vivid in her mind when... _Warp!_

All of a sudden, the change rapidly occurred. In the matter of a few seconds, she heard a warping sound followed by the feeling of a being shorter than before. However, if she was not aware of it, she would never known that she changed shape. It was completely painless and it felt as if nothing happens. She looked around, seeing that everything got a little bit taller than it usually was. She raised a paw and looked at it strangely, looking down she got a glance of her feet as well. _Woah, it's a little strange with these paws!_

Doug and Jesse weren't sure what to think or say, they simply stood there dumbfounded by what just happened. They just saw their boss change shift right before their eyes.

"Uh, boss?" Jesse finally said, breaking the awkward moment of silence. "H-how do you feel?"

"It's a bit strange in this form" she said speaking through her new form. While her shape was changed, her voice remained the same as it was. "But I'm so glad that it worked, now I don't have worry about being spotted thanks to this."

"So how do you go back to normal?"

"Just think about my normal self, I guess"

And that is exactly what she started to do. She started to picture her true form once again, and within a few seconds warped back to her natural sheep self. She took a quick breath and stumbled a little on her feet, considering that she gained a few inches from when she changed. The change in size was indeed something she would need time to adjust to.

"Well that all worked out" she said.

"So does this mean we each get one of those pendants too?" Jesse asked excitedly. "I mean, why else did Gloria give you three?"

"Don't even think about it!" she told him, much to his dismay. "For your information, she gave two extras to me as a back-up."

"Come on! You're not being fair here!"

"Look, I know you wanna be part of this. I promise that you and Doug have a part in this plan, but she told me to head over to her."

"Ugh, fine!" he huffed back like a child. His pouting was quickly interrupted by several warping sounds. The noises were coming from another side of the room, where Doug was wearing one of the spare pendants and rapidly changing shape.

 _He doesn't know how to work that thing!_ Bellwether thought. _I knew leaving those on the counter was a bad idea._ She ran over to Doug (who just reverted back to his normal self) and got the pendant off of his neck as quick as she could. "What the heck, Doug?" she yelled.

"I-I just wanted to see how that thing works. And let me tell ya something, I don't know what you call it but I do know that it's an awesome little gadget."

She let out a big sigh, knowing inside it was not going to be easy with these gadgets around. If they were ever to get into the grasp of Doug or Jesse, they would just play with it as if it were a toy.

* * *

 **Later at ZJL Headquarters...**

Nick and Judy were trying to make their way over to headquarters, running as quick as their paws could carry them. Rushing through the parking garage of the apartment complex, they made their way over to the far left of the perimeter. While it never seemed as if anything extraordinary would ever be in an area like this, that was the original point in why the secret entrance was within here. If there was one thing that Nick and Judy both knew about being superheroes, it was that headquarters had to be in a very secret location.

Once they reached the far left of the parking space, they came across a metallic gray door with what looked like a security system. The kind that read a fob key in order to let people in a building. Nick and Judy knew that this was the place they needed to be, it was such a familiar yet wonderful sight to them every time they arrived. Nick stepped ahead and placed a paw over the light of the security system, it scanned it up and down before blinking a green light and letting out a beep. Judy scanned her into the system as well with the same result, this was how security was in order to get to the headquarters. Once she was done, she heard the sound of the blank gray door unlock. Nick turned the knob and let them into an even more blank and innocent-looking space. The only thing that occupied this space was what looked like an unused elevator on the left side. But of course no mistake could be made, there was another step before getting into the headquarters. The two of them walked over to the right corner of the room, where another similar security system sat. It was similar to the other one except that this one had several keys on it. Nick waved a paw over it and the screen lit up a dim green. He started to type in several numbers on the keypad. The system beeped twice, saying to them that access was granted.

"Ready, Carrots?" Nick said.

"Oh yeah," Judy replied "You know I'm ready!"

While they did this many times before, it never seemed to get old to them. Coming back to headquarters was no matter what an amazing experience for them, considering that they always had something new to look forward to each time. After a hesitation that lasted for a few seconds, the elevator dinged and opened up for them. They stepped inside and pressed the only button that was inside.

"Going down?" Judy joked.

Nick let out a little snicker as the elevator doors closed them inside. "Okay, here we go. Better hold on, Fluff!"

The elevator dinged and they felt it go down, but it was going at a slower speed than it usually did. Nick and Judy knew from experience that every time they took this down, it dropped at a very fast speed. But at the moment it was just going the speed of any ordinary elevator.

"I don't get what's going on here!" Nick said feeling a little bit concerned. "I thought for sure that right after the door close this thing was supposed to-"

Right before he could finish what he was saying, he was interrupted by the complete drop of the elevator. While it was typical for them to go at this speed, it always felt as if they were going down the first drop of a roller-coaster. Nick look completely scared when the drop unexpectedly happened, Judy stood there on the opposite lightly laughing at his reaction. A little bit of time had passed before they felt the elevator hit the bottom, the doors opened slowly and another ding sounded. They got into a dark hall where another door stood in the distance. This was where they got off and got to work. They both exited the elevator, Nick still trying to catch his breath.

"That just came outta nowhere!" he said in between some of his panting. "You know, someone outta fix that thing!"

Judy let out a little laugh and gave Nick a nudge on his shoulder. "That got ya good, didn't it? Anyway we better get going, Scaredy Pants"

Finally, they made their way to this door and slightly opened it up. Once they stepped inside to headquarters, the familiar yet awe-striking sights filled their eyes once again. Only this was not the time for simply hanging out, they all had seriously business to attend to

"Alright everybody" called out the voice of Bogo. "I think it's time we get to work!"

* * *

 **Author's Note: And here we are! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I've got more coming up real soon. Please let me know what you all think about it and I'll see you again real soon!**


	8. Bellwether Is Back

The entire room stood silent for a few moments as Dawn crept around the corner to grab her communicator. She noticed that Doug and Jesse were both occupied in their own activities. Although she wasn't sure exactly what they were up to, at the moment it honestly didn't matter. Now that she got the pendants, she needed to call for Gloria. If Doug and Jesse saw her continue the plan solo, they wouldn't be in good spirits. It was like working with two children according to Dawn, and when it came to these two "children" there was times of pouting and dismay. But to make sure she would no longer be annoyed by them about the rest of the plan, she was conducting a little surprise. If it all went well and Gloria approved, she would take Doug and Jesse with her by disguising them with the two spare pendants. As much as she wished to do this part on her own, she knew that her two minions would just bother her about it and ask a million questions. So she just decided that she would bite the bullet and kindly ask Gloria about them tagging along. _And those two better never say that I don't do anything nice for them,_ she thought.

She selected for Gloria's contact and began to put out a call on the communicator. There was a brief hold that lasted about ten seconds, afterwards a rustling sound was heard on the other end. A familiar voice came through and kindly greeted her. "Hello?" it asked.

"Hey there, Gloria!" Dawn started. "Got your little surprise package, by the way thank you for the little gifts inside."

"I just knew that you'd get a kick outta those things" Gloria replied. "Now that you got those, you can try your best to make your way over to me so that we can discuss the rest of the plans."

"Yeah, about that..." she started but let out an awkward moment of silence.

"What's the matter? Is it about the pendants? Tell me they work like they should."

"Yeah, it's not the pendants. They work perfectly fine, it's just that I have little bit of a dilemma. If I tell you, will ya let me know what your thoughts are?"

"Of course, Dawn. What's the trouble?"

"Well, my two minions kinda heard about my idea of coming over to you, and ever since they've been on me about letting them come with me. Considering they've never seen you in person, they won't leave me alone about it."

"So you're gonna ask me if they can accompany you, right?"

"Yeah I was, but I know that you're not very fond of guests. And trust me, I totally get you. To be honest with you for a second, Doug and Jesse get on my nerves sometimes and makes me wish I had the tranquility you did. So what do you say, Gloria? If you can't do it, it's completely understandable."

"Well... I guess they are allowed to tag along. But what's in it for me?"

"Oh not much, just another opportunity to join in on my plans of taking over Zootopia."

"Then we have a deal!"

"Oh thank you, Gloria! You're kinder than you think you are, I'll make sure that-"

"But you better make sure you keep them under control! I'm pretty sure they'll be shocked by all my gadgets and such, so make sure you contain their enthusiasm."

The call abruptly ended before Dawn could thank Gloria a second time and say goodbye. As she thought, Gloria would be a little understandable and allow Doug and Jesse. It was taking of two things at once: Putting her plans into action and doing something nice to her two minions. Gloria's reminder echoed inside her head for just a moment: _I'm pretty sure they'll be shocked by all my gadgets and such, so make sure you contain their enthusiasm._ It was an otherwise helpful reminder for her, considering that she completely forgot all about that. Dawn had to remember that Gloria was indeed a mastermind when it came to technology, which meant inside her domain was tons of different devices. If she didn't keep watch on Doug and Jesse, they would probably end up touching a lot of the gadgets that they shouldn't. Or worse, they could possibly break something by using one of them incorrectly. But Dawn tried to shake all those worries off and attempt to make the best of this moment.

"Doug! Jesse!" she shouted. "The two of you need to get over here right this instant!"

The two of them ran straight over to her as quick as they could. Their were looking perky and attentive to hear what she had to say, it was as if they already knew and just were excited to listen to what they overheard a second time. "What is it, boss?" Doug said in his happiest voice possible.

"Y'all need to listen up!" she started. "Normally I don't do things like this, but I'm doing this for two reasons. Firstly, I felt like I should do something nice for the two of you, but also because I felt like I didn't have a choice. But after having a little chat, there was an agreement and you're allowed to come with me to Gloria's headquarters."

Before she could truly finish laying down all of the rules, Doug and Jesse completely lost all control of their excitement. The two of them were in total shock, wondering if it was actually true or if they were only dreaming. "But there is some other things you need to understand before you go!" Dawn said, interrupting their miniature celebration.

"What is it?" Doug asked.

"Yeah," Jesse added in. "You tell us and we'll use our listening ears as much as we can!"

"Like I said before" Dawn continued on. "Gloria's place if chock-full of gadgets and technology that even your brains couldn't handle. And you already know how serious she is about having people over, so if you would just not screw with anything that would mean the world to me."

"No problem, boss!" they replied to her in sync.

She knew that they understood her for the time being, but she was intrigued to see how long it would exactly last once they reached their destination. _Please,_ she prayed inside her head. _Don't let them mess this up for me!_

* * *

 **Meanwhile...**

As the door slammed shut behind them, Nick and Judy walked into the front room of headquarters. While the amazing sights they took for granted would be a grand view for the average person, it was all merely another day's work for the Zootopia Justice League. Everything around them look almost futuristic and glowed with electricity as they stepped further inside, finding a place to take their loads off in some spare seats around a table in the middle of the room.

All around them was the familiar yet striking sights. On the left side of the room stood the system of a giant super-computer, wires hooking to several screens all running individual programs at the same time. Most of the time Bogo took charge of the highly advanced operating system, keeping track of villains in Zootopia and gaining information. Not only did it offer insight on villainous plots and perform other work-related tasks, but it also offered a program created entirely for their leisure. When the time came for relaxation the computer could switch programs, either playing television or putting on music. On the opposite side stood four tubes, each of them containing their superhero outfits for whenever they needed them. In the middle also was what looked like a vault. Inside of it was all of the gadgetry and equipment they had, all of which were on shelves conveniently organized for when they were needed in a rush. And all of this was just in the main room of headquarters. The sights and technology did not end at one part of the area, many other unique machines could be found throughout all of the other rooms too.

Bogo got up from the desk by the super-computer and walked over to where Nick and Judy were seated, ready to discuss what actions needed to be taken. Elasti-zelle took his position at the desk as he slouched beside them. "Alright you two!" he started. "Welcome back, we've got a lot on our plates here so I'm hoping that you both don't have anywhere important you need to be. Because if you think about for just a moment, this is truthfully the most important place you need to be."

Judy took a deep breath out and put on a wide smile, this made her feel extremely good to be here once again.

"You tell us what we need to do and we're on it, Bogo!" Judy shouted both enthusiastically and full of optimism. Even in a big situation that they were in right now, it never stopped her from staying true to her positive, the-glass-is-half-full personality. Life went on and bad things happened, but Judy always brought something good out of anything. Even if one of the worst mammals they ever took on was possibly plotting her revenge.

"Yeah," Nick said joining in on Judy's little spree of encouragement. "Wherever we need to go, we'll be there!"

"That's good, very good!" Bogo started. "We need feelings of motivation like that right now, because what's going on is not something you can just put on the back burner. We all know the villainous Bellwether escaped prison and is obviously up to no good, so in every way possible we need to resolve this matter."

"What details do we got on her?" Judy asked.

"The sensors indicated that she was last spotted at her old headquarters" Bogo replied. "It's implied that she was simply searching through to see if anything remained from when they confiscated her assets. From there her whereabouts remain unknown, the system didn't really pick anything else up after that."

* * *

 **A Few Moments Later...**

It was time for them to enter the public once again, only this time with completely twisted identities. Dawn handed out the two spare pendants to Doug and Jesse and placed hers around her neck. She proceeded to give them a quick explanation and how they worked. After privately practicing with herself a couple times, Dawn felt the need to show Doug and Jesse the proper way to use them. Excitement starting to course through her veins, once again she felt alive inside.

"Okay you two!" she started. "I'm only gonna tell you this once so listen closely and good. These are some of the instructions on how you are going to use your pendants: Now that you got it around you, the first thing you wanna do is start to visualize what form it is you want to take on. I discovered that these somehow work off your thoughts, so thinking clearly is the key. Watch closely..."

She started to demonstrate on what the routine was, doing exactly what she did the first time. She was going to take the same form she did before: Judy. Once again, Dawn began to clear her mind of any buzzing thoughts (which was many considering the moment they were in). She closed her eyes and started to visualize in her head the shape she would take. In her mind's eye, Dawn could clearly in her head see the details. Every single thing from the gray fur to the purple eyes was what was coming to her. Despite using this as her example, the form of ZipPaw was truly something she despised and would not be using long-term. After all, she was turning herself into one of the members belonging to the group she truly hated. Doug and Jesse watched attentively at Dawn, who continued on this trance of thinking of one single mammal. She silently muttered "ZipPaw" under her breath, repeating out loud the only thought in her brain at the moment. She said it a couple more times, and then...

Suddenly the shift started to take place, Dawn only being partially aware of it. The light came like it did before followed by the light warping sound, and within a few more seconds she changed shape for the second time. Her two partners looked at her, still stunned at how modern technology made it possible to do something they thought only happened in the movies. Dawn took a quick look at her paws that belonged to her changed form, flipping back her now long ears. "See guys" she said, her voice still the same as it always was. "That's how it's done! You just think of the mammal and you if you did it right you change shape."

Dawn then began to think about changing back again to her normal shape. After performing the exact same routine, she shifted back into the sheep form that she truly held. In the same matter as the first time, she slightly stumbled upon getting taller but quickly regained her balance. "That's still going to take some getting used to" she said. "I still haven't fully adjusted to losing and gaining height like that. Alrighty then, now that my demonstration is over I believe time for you both to try it out for yourselves."

Doug and Jesse both looked at each side feeling a little confused. Both of them took a deep breath out and individually tried to do exactly as she did, but they weren't exactly even sure what they were doing. They honestly weren't even sure what shape they wanted to take. The two sheep just walked away and simultaneously pondered on what they should try to shift into. After all, it was the first time they ever changed shape by using a wire-filled pendant.

"What's the problem now?" Dawn asked in a tone that implied that she was getting a little impatient. "I can see the smoke coming from your heads, so what are you both thinking so hard about?"

"I'm not exactly sure what shape to try out first" Doug replied.

"Yeah, same here!" said Jesse chiming in. "I'm at a loss for ideas!"

"And you both wonder why I call you indecisive. Just pick something simple and go with it!" she shouted. She walked over to where Jesse was sitting down to ask him a question. "How did you flicker through all those forms a short time ago the you were messing with the pendant?"

"I-I don't know exactly" he said hesitantly. "I wasn't really thinking about somethin' in particular, I was actually thinking about how you were saying about wanting to have control over all of Zootopia. When I started thinking of all those mammals in your clutches, that just started to happen. It cracked me up at first but then I-"

"Alright, alright! I heard enough!" she interrupted. Dawn looked at Jesse and quickly changed her mood from partially irritated to as helpful as she could possibly be. "Anyway Jesse, whatever it was that you were ridiculously doing, do it again. But this time, I want you try and focus on a single mammal. You got that?"

He shook his head to confirm that he understood, Dawn walked away but it wasn't before long that Jesse put out another question. "But that doesn't really answer my question. What mammal am I suppose to think of?"

"Ugh!" she exclaimed. "Just pick something and make it quick, okay? We don't have time to play games!"

"Okay, geez!" he said back with a little bit of an attitude. He proceeded to do the same routine that Dawn did, thinking constantly about the first idea that came to mind. There was no specific reason why, but the first thing that popped into his brain was a ferret. After a short time, to his surprise he actually did it. He actually did what Bellwether accomplished, Doug tagged along and copied the exact same form that he chose.

Dawn joined after them but this shifted into the form of an otter. Walking with webbed paws that were feeling very unusual, she joined the two of them who were still getting the feeling of being something completely different. "Alright!" she said to them. "I think it's about time we get outta here."

"Gloria, here we come!" Doug said full of joy.

"Oh, and one more thing" Dawn said without hesitation. "It's kinda obvious, but you might wanna refrain from talking until we get to our next destination. The pendants might be able to change us, but I can't say the same about our voices."

"Got it!" he replied but instantly realized that he wasn't supposed to speak. "Uh sorry, boss. That kinda slipped out."

"Don't make me regret this" was all she replied before the crew walked out, leaving the building they once called their headquarters behind them.

* * *

 **Later...**

"Attention" said the automated-sounding voice over the speakers. "The next train will be departing in five minutes."

Bellwether was occupied in reading the giant sign that depicted the map of all the districts in Zootopia, the lights at Savannah Central Station flickering in the night and a little breeze filling the air. The five minutes that were announced seemed to go by extremely quick, and soon the orange-yellow train came pulling into where everyone was waiting. As everyone got out of the train that arrived, the others who were waiting all were bustling to make their way inside. This was working quite well, considering that not only were they disguised, but also blended in with the busy crowd. The three of them made their way into the train and secured themselves a nice spot. The next step in the plan was now in motion: They would take this train until they got to the Rainforest District. But after they get there, they would have to catch another train which would take them over to the Canal District. From there, the rest of what was of most importance would be settled.

While they needed to all keep unsuspecting profiles, they couldn't but admit that this was actually kind of fun. They thought about it for a moment: The three of them as completely different mammals, having completely different identities. Not only that, but now they were boarding a train that the normal Bellwether would never be able to show up on without being caught.

"Attention" the speakers called out once more. "This train is now departing. Please remain clear from the tracks as we begin to depart."

After the final word was spoken in the second announcement, the train slowly started to move and soon that they found themselves moving full speed into the night. From the little window that was beside them, Bellwether got a glance at the Savannah District that was becoming further in the distance. She was observing all the lights from the buildings that lit up the darkness of the night. Exhaling she got comfortable in her seat, Doug and Jesse following her lead. The arrival at the Canal District would definitely be worth all of her anticipation.

* * *

 **Back at ZJL Headquarters...**

 _Beep! Beep!_

The uncanny and deep beeping sound disturbed the room from what they were all doing. Following it Bogo ran over to the super-computer and realized this was where the sound was coming from. One screen was blinking in sync with the beep, followed by a messaged that flashed each time: _Warning: Sensors Have Detected Movement._

Being programmed with Bellwether as the main concern, they all assumed that this was what caused the alert to be issued. In an urgent panic, Bogo as quick as he could dismissed the alert and opened up the tracking program. The rest of the crew was huddled closely all around waiting for the news, so close that it seemed as if they did not understand personal space.

The program instant loaded up, and what was displayed was what looked like a map. What was depicted was all of the districts, and in the bottom right corner a counter that displayed the number of alerts issued. Bogo's eyes scanned the map vigorously, up and down he looked before they dotted for the second time on the Savannah District. An orange bubble with an exclamation point was blinking on that area. He clicked on it and more details regarding the specific district came into view.

The orange exclamatory bubble started to become a long orange line. It stretched from Savannah Central Station and was slowly moving when looked at a little closer. Bogo half expected the computer to ring eventually with a notice like this, but he was not prepared by the details he discovered when running an analysis on the alert. Somehow, some way Bellwether managed to board a train. _How is that even possible?_ he asked himself. _Wouldn't she be easy to spot in the crowd? Or was there some kind of disguise or something as to why she was to do this so stealthily? And more importantly, why is she on this train and what was she up to this time?_


	9. Arrival in the Canal District

"I can't wrap my head around this!" Bogo muttered. "How could she get that far without being spotted?"

The entire room stood silent for a short time as they all stared blankly at the monitor. The orange line was slowly moving forward on the line that represented where trains went in and out, steadily growing longer as it progressed. As it continued, the now blinking exclamation point on the screen was starting to get on Bogo's nerves as he attempted to retrieve more information out of the system. Right after that, the line and point that was tracking Bellwether glitched and disappeared off the grid. This made Bogo even more furious inside. _How does that even happen? We've got some of the best, top-of-the-line_ _equipment and somehow it decides to glitch while were tracking a villain!_

Modern technology continued to grow, but sometimes it even had its limits and needed one of the heroes to scope the scene. "Look" he said, letting out a deep breath. "We've always been one step ahead of things, but this is gonna need some assessment time."

"So... What exactly are we gonna do now?" Nick asked feeling little bit confused at what was happening. Bogo never enjoyed having problems unexpectedly appear like they just did, so everyone knew that he was feeling a little infuriated.

"Yeah," Judy said joining in, even though it was not making the situation any better. "We gotta get to the bottom of this! I think we outta-"

"No!" Bogo said, immediately interrupting her spill of motivation. His voice was truly displaying that in this moment he was feeling irritated. "No one is doing anything until I can fully get this whole ordeal figured out. Do I have myself clear?"

"But Bellwether's on a train with tons of innocent mammals on it! Who knows where she's going or if she's gonna do anything right-"

"Go! If she had something dangerous on board they either would've found it or something would've happened to the train by now. The best thing for you and Nick to do is just go back home and let me figure out the next move. You understand?"

Nick and Judy just went ahead and politely nodded in agreement. As much as they knew that the Zootopia Justice League was a team, they felt it was time to just take a moment and return back home. While it was unlike Bogo to behave that way, it was best to not add more stress on top of everything. Putting into consideration the mood he was feeling, it was definitely not the time to disagree with him. Also knowing inside that he had powers in his hooves, they did not want to think about what would happen if he got too angered and slammed a hoof down. The scene was vivid in their heads, not that they wished to imagine it happening. The warping wave coming from where he slammed down, the two of them flying to the other side of headquarters. While they would not be harmed if that happened (considering that Bogo accidentally did that on several occasions), it just didn't seem like fun at the moment.

* * *

The two proceeded out to the dark hall that led to the elevator as the door slammed shut behind them. As they got closer to where they came from, the elevator instantaneously opened for them and lit up. Walking around reminded them off how the situation was at the moment, completely dark and negative with a small light of hope inside. The elevator doors closed behind them and they started to skyrocket up at the same rapid speed as before. Judy began to ponder about Bogo's orders, he knew it wasn't like him to do that with the team, but if she was honest the entire issue of Bellwether was starting to get to her too. As much as she didn't want to express the feelings of doubt or worry to Nick, she felt that she could a little bit when she looked up and saw a troubled look across his face.

"Don't worry about it, Nick" she said, breaking the awkward moment of silence.

"What if she truly gets what she wants?" he said in a trance, as if he completely ignored what she just said. "What if she wins and we're finally defeated? Think about it, Carrots! She's probably got something even more dangerous planned out, so how are we gonna manage if she happens to outsmart us?"

"It's gonna be alright, I'll make sure of that. After all we've been given our powers for a reason."

"I get it that we got superpowers, but we're far from perfect. I'm just paranoid that she's gonna stop us this time, that somehow she'll get us completely off guard. And if that happens it could mean danger to thousands, maybe everyone in Zootopia. You know what I mean, Carrots? It's really getting on my nerves."

The elevator stopped when it went the whole way back up, as the doors opened they could see the empty space where they scan themselves in. All Judy could do at the moment let out a little sigh and look down at the floor. Nick proceeded to walk out of the elevator when she grabbed his paw and drew him back towards her. "I know what you mean, Nick" she said as he looked down into her eyes. "Believe me, about ninety-eight percent of the time I have this positive, happy-go-lucky vibe inside of me. But right now, that other two percent of concerns is beginning to bubble up. There's no way to quickly fix what's going on, but I've got something to take the weight off your shoulders."

She happened to have her phone with her, unlocking she scrolled through her long collection of photos saved on it. Not finding one in particular to bring up, she went into the folders section and found a collection pictures titled " _My Favorite Memories With Nick_ ". She opened it up and a long list of squares appeared on her brightly lit screen, the majority of them being pictures of her and Nick together at different places. She let out a small chuckle before clicking on one of the icons, filling the entire screen with what she chose. Depicted in the picture was a selfie of the two of them, Judy smiling brightly and Nick looking super frightened. In the background behind them was a bright blue sky, looking as if they were higher than the tops of the trees. She could remember where they took that photo like it just happened. It was taken in the Rainforest District, to be exact she took at an attraction that was there. It went by the name of Firmament Lookout, and it allowed visitors to walk many feet up to observe the area from high up. Another thing that made the experience even better (or worse if the visitor was fearful) was a unique floor in the middle of the lookout. While on the sides it had a typical look, in the middle it was actually see-through. Offering the feeling as if one was literally walking in the air.

The views were all coming back to her in great details... How everything looked so minuscule from that height, the gondola lifts transporting others in both directions, and the outline of the Savannah District in the distance.

She remembered clearly that while she was taking in what she was breathtaking to see, Nick was super nervous and asking repeatedly when they could start walking back down. Judy even recalls having to try to get Nick to stand with him to take the picture. It was one of her favorites that she took of them together, and that was saying something considering that her phone was full to the brim with many different pictures. She lifted the phone to show him, he even let out a little laugh under his breath too at the sight of it. "Yeah, I remember being up there." he said, feeling a little more relaxed than he did a few seconds ago. "You know thinking back, walkin' up that lookout wasn't that bad."

"Really? It wasn't that bad?" she asked, knowing that he was telling a complete lie. "Well your face in the photo says otherwise."

"Yeah, you're right! I was a little nervous when I got to the top."

"A little bit?"

"Okay, okay, I was really scared. We were just going up and up and by the time I got up there everything was just so small."

"At one point you looked like you were gonna pass out up there. I don't understand why though, you have the power of flight and went pretty high using that. So why was the look-out so frightening?"

"That's something I don't the answer to, Fluff. I'm not that scared when it comes to heights, but that place was messin' with me. What I really wanna blame that on is the see-through floors for that. You're joking around and sayin' that I need to look down, and when I did that about gave me a heart attack."

Judy started to laugh at how he was putting things, and Nick could not help but start laughing with her. "Yeah, the way you jumped was hilarious!" she said. "You were acting like the floor was gone and you were gonna start falling through."

"I can't help it that I did that" he replied. "And you leaning over to look on the edges wasn't making it any better."

"Alrighty then, moving on to the next picture I got."

The elevator door was still hanging wide open, ready for whenever they wished to leave. But right now, time was stopping in its place. Relaxation began to fill both of their minds as she swiped the screen of her phone to the right, displaying another picture in her collage. It looked like it was another selfie, but this time it was in a different place according to the background. She remembered where and when this photo was taken, the same went for all of the others too. The photo was taken during one of their picnics at one of the parks they occasionally went to.

One more swipe to the right and there came a picture that made her laugh. It was depicting Nick on a small platform, and he appeared to be singing into a microphone. _Oh yeah,_ she thought, _Who could ever forget that one? That was good ol' karaoke night!_

One night when they were out, Nick thought she would surprise her by joining in on the karaoke night and singing one of her favorite songs. But when he got up there and started singing, he became self-aware that his voice was far from that of a singer. While most of the people watching him were reacting in a very negative way, Judy didn't seem to mind his voice being completely off.

Another swipe revealed a photo that Nick took of her, she appeared to be blowing out candles from a birthday cake. That day had some humorous moments to it, considering that it was the year that Nick tried to surprise her by making the cake. He was never good at baking (and he even admitted to it), so it led to a cake whose results were a little bit unfavorable. The entire outside of the cake was practically burnt, but when she sat down and dug into it, she simply just enjoyed that it was made by him.

"Oh yeah, I can remember that birthday" she said.

"You're kidding me, right?" he replied, a little bit confused why she was talking about that moment on a positive. "That was the year I totally screwed up the most important part!"

"Oh, it wasn't _that_ bad"

"You don't gotta be nice about it, Carrots. I might be good at other things, but I'm _so_ not made for baking. I found this great recipe, followed it step by step thinking it's gonna knock you off your paws. But then I went to check up on it, and it was a little gooey in the center. So I put it back in, one thing lead to another and the next time I go to the oven I practically messed up the whole top of the cake!"

Judy let out another laugh before she replied to that. "Yeah, if I'm honest some of that top layer was inedible. But the middle was moist and baked to perfection!"

Another swipe to the right and it brought up a picture that was unique to her. This one just had Nick in it, but he was sitting on a stool right next an easel with big sketch paper on it. He was smiling brightly and proudly to the camera, a paw rested on the top of the easel where a beautiful sketch stood. It was not just an ordinary sketch, but one of Judy's face done in great detail. As usual, she instantly knew the event associated with the picture like it was yesterday. If she remembered correctly, is was when the two of them were taking classes for drawing and sketching. While Judy did not stay as long because she couldn't get results she wanted, Nick continued the remainder of the lessons. By the time the class was finished, Nick felt as if he could practically sketch anything thanks to the details given in his tutoring. The day he finished the sketch in the photo was actually a surprise to her. It all started when Nick called her to tell her to come over to the building where the classes were being held, telling her not to ask why. Confused by what that meant, she proceeded to head over there and what greeted her was Nick holding up the most beautiful sketch she ever saw. It wasn't just because he did it (or because the object in the sketch was herself), but mostly because she couldn't get over all the gorgeous details within it. A note was written on it ( _To Judy, With Love_ ) and his signature underneath it. All her reaction was that day was a gasp, followed by her asking him in shock "Did you really do this?"

It made her feel happy inside when she looked at that picture, letting her relive that moment in her head all over again. "You remember making me that, Nick?" she asked.

"Yep, and I remember how happy you were to get it that day too" he replied.

"I still treasure it! I placed on a stand so I can see every time I walk by."

More exchanged smiles and a swipe later, she this time came across a video. Pressing the icon to make it play, she saw that it was a video of Gazelle's concert. The sound of the hundreds of shouting fans (including Judy) could be heard with the music. The bright lights were strobing across the stage and all around them. The video started to move away from Gazelle on the stage and over to Nick, who couldn't deny dancing along to the music as well. "Nice dance moves, Slick" she could hear herself say in the video, muffled behind all the ongoing sounds of the concert. When he heard he became aware that she was recording and started to get really embarrassed. As he tried to cover the camera lens up with his paw, the video then turned back to the performance and ended abruptly. After putting her phone down, Nick and Judy were now just looking at each other, both completely changed in mood. After being full of worry a few minutes ago, Judy's little collection of memories brought smiles across their faces and a little laughter in their voices.

"I gotta thank ya for showing me that, Carrots" he said. "That definitely cheered me up."

"My pleasure" she replied. "That's what I look at if anything is on my mind, and within minutes I feel better. I can't fix the problem at the moment, but trust me when I say that no matter what we'll catch Bellwether and keep Zootopia safe. That's a promise to you and to everybody!"

"Y'know, you're the one I know who can take the escape of a villain and make it fade to gray for awhile."

"Do I know that? Yes, yes I do."

Paws grasping and holding onto each other, the two of them finally walked out of the elevator together and watched it shut behind them. Making their way out of the space and back outside. _Bring on whatever may come,_ Judy thought, _Because we'll be ready for it! Ready to take on anything!_

* * *

 **Meanwhile...**

The travel time was starting to grow long and weary in Bellwether's mind. But once they finally picked everyone they needed at their stops at the other districts, they were fully on their way. Tons of different thoughts, both relevant and irrelevant, were crossing through her mind all at once. She was putting everything happening right now into consideration. She had not only escaped, but now she managed to make it this far on public transportation, disguised as something completely different. She could owe it all to Gloria for providing an unsuspecting way to get by with the pendants.

All she could do at the moment was stare blankly out the passenger window, the paw that belonged to her shifted form resting against the glass. It was truly pitch black outside, but she could still make out the silhouettes of buildings and lights they projected could still be made out from afar. Doug and Jesse had fallen asleep and were annoying her with their obnoxious snoring on both sides of her. She tried giving them a shove and doing other tactics to make them quit, but all failed. Those two truly slept like babies.

After some time boringly passed, she soon recognized that they were about to enter the Rainforest District. While she couldn't truly make out the sights like she could have in the daytime, she knew exactly what scenery she entered. The lush and green spaces took view as a humid mist hit the window she was looking out of. The rest of the passengers seemed to all be occupied in whatever it was they were doing. Most of them exchanging conversations, rustling their magazines or tapping at their phones. But she tried not to give any attention towards any of that, because if she were to open up her mouth and let out her voice then her disguise tool would be useless. And she didn't come this far to mess something up at this point!

She was drowning everything out with her bustling thoughts, and sooner then she expected the train came to a stop. The doors began to open and the familiar and welcoming voice of the automated message greeted them. "Attention passengers, we have arrived at the Rainforest District Station." it called out over the speakers. "The next transferring train to the Canal District will be departing shortly."

 _Well, this is the first stop,_ she thought. Doug and Jesse were still back to snoring again as she proceeded to get out of her seat. Sending forceful nudges on both of their sides, they finally woke up out of there extremely comfortable sleep. She angrily pantomimed to the two of them to follow her out to the station and into the next train. Upon exiting into the night, she once again blended in with the crowds that coming in and out. The bright lights of the station lit up the pitch black of night like a flashlight. It appeared to be the only thing that was keeping Doug and Jesse up and moving, the two of them appearing to move like they were still half asleep. They all assumed their positions in an area of the train away from most and near a window. Getting in their seats once more, Bellwether tried to relax as Doug and Jesse both fell back asleep almost instantaneously. The final destination couldn't come to them soon enough.

* * *

By the time they reached their stop in the Canal District, Bellwether even admitted to partially dozing off too. But after putting thought into how long they had been up, it wouldn't have killed her to rest her eyes for five minutes. At least she wasn't being an annoyance like Doug and Jesse, who aggravated her with their unfortunate habit of sawing logs in their sleep. She woke her two minions up and proceeded out of the train, ready to get to the next places that they needed to go.

Now they found themselves wandering through the Canal District taking in the sights, all of the life seemed to be sleeping except for the lights of buildings or the occasional car driving by. The first thing that they needed to do was somehow find a place to stay, until they reached Gloria they would have to unsuspectingly stay at some kind of hotel. Luckily as they were making their way down the sidewalk, a nice-looking hotel conveniently came into their view. After they saw it, Bellwether insisted that there was where they would get a little rest before getting into all of the action. But because of the disadvantage of not being able to change her voice along with her form, it was going to make things a little more difficult. She couldn't just walk up and request a room in her voice that was now considered infamous. After making a decision, they insisted on letting Jesse talk to whoever was at the front desk.

They stepped up the the front doors of the hotel, automatically opening they seemed to welcome them for the evening. The lights that made up the main hall they stood in were getting bright in their eyes, considering that they had been walking around in practically total darkness. The front desk was on their right, and standing there was a young fox. He appeared as if he were dying of boredom, tapping his claws repeatedly on the counter. From his overall appearance, they assumed he was a young adult, and from the looks in his eyes they knew he truly disliked the job he was in. Bellwether began to feel a hint of hatred growing inside of her, while the fox wasn't Nick, it still brought up a terrible reminder of her previously foiled plans. Luckily Jesse would be doing the talking, it was a positive because he was less suspicious and it also kept Bellwether from getting a bad temper with the clerk. Jesse approached the table and asked for their room. Slouched over, the clerk began typing a couple of things into the computer and handed them a card to swipe so that they could unlock the room.

"Alright, you're all good to go." the fox said, his voice sounding as if he didn't care at all.

The three proceeded to the elevator on the other side of the lobby and made their way up to the second floor. Once they got up, they made a right turn and started walking down the halls to try and find their room number. It started to come closer and closer to them as they walked.

When they finally found the room they were looking for, Jesse handed the card over to Bellwether who swiped it across what looked like a little security system. After she did that, a green light lit up, followed by a faint beep and the sound of the hotel room's door unlocking. Opening the door, they were welcomed with an inviting yet typical layout. Walls painted red, two beds covered in plain white bedding, small nightstands in between with lit lamps, a small writing desk with a notepad, as well as a television stand. Bellwether turned on the flat-screen television that room provided. It was not because anything was good on at this hour, but because right now they needed to fill the room with some noise. With the volume up just enough to potentially block out the sounds of their conversations, she felt that it was safe to speak with them without worry. Walking over to the far side of the room, she opened up the curtains that were covering a large window that provided a spectacular view of the Canal District. Simply standing there, she closed her eyes for a moment and focused. After a brief pause that lasted for about three seconds, she shifted back into her natural sheep form once again. Feeling that she gained her height back, she took a seat on the edge of the bed. She rubbed a hoof on the bedspread and looked over at Doug and Jesse, who still were staying in the forms that the pendants changed them too.

"Well it's settled." she said, still attempting to keep her voice down despite having the TV fill the vacuum with sound. "We get an hour or two of rest here, and tomorrow we'll be arriving at Gloria's place. Now what we-"

What she was about to say was interrupted by the sound of someone knocking at the door. In a panic, she hurried up and managed to shift into her disguise form of an otter once again. Jesse went ahead and answered the door, causing Bellwether to have a little bit of a panic attack. _You_ _don't just answer like that! We're suppose to keep a low profile!_

Lucky for her, she shifted back just in time for the door to be answered. Who was knocking at the door was only a worker from the hotel, presumably coming to check on something. "Is everything to your liking?" he asked the room, which answered him back with nodding.

"Yes, yes it's all fine!" Doug said in a collected voice.

"Yeah, go away now!" Jesse chimed in, which was followed by a nudge on the shoulder by Doug.

"Just let us know if y'all need anything, we're only one floor down."

After the door was shut and they went back to their normal procedures, Bellwether let out a deep breath. _Whew! That was definitely a close one!_

"Okay, you two," she said as she pulled the bedspread down and made herself comfortable. "I think it's been a long night for all of us. so let's try to get some shut-eye."

"Well tonight wasn't that bad," Doug replied. "The two train rides seem kind of fuzzy in my memory."

"That's because you two fools fell asleep on me several times!" she snapped back. "And on top of that, you and Jesse couldn't quit snoring right in my ears!"

"Well sorry" Jesse said with a little bit of attitude. "You gotta understand that we get tired, and I'm off in a really good dream there's no use trying to wake me."

"Well, I know both of you would never be able to bolt outta bed if the smoke detectors were goin' off. It'd probably be me having to either wake you or drag you out. Anyway, we'll talk about our plans first in the morning. Goodnight you two."

"Goodnight!" Doug and Jesse both said back to her in sync.

The two of them as usual drifted off into a deep sleep within a few minutes, Bellwether turned to face the direction of the window. Looking out at the darkness outside somehow brought this pleasurable feeling over her. As her eyes were slowly starting to want to close, she continued to stare out into the views that she could see. Looking at all the buildings she could make out, a stream of thoughts began to unravel inside of her. _It all looks so peaceful,_ she thought. _Everything is perfect and everyone has their minds at ease... But not for_ _long!_

A few inches from her face she stuck out a hoof and made a fist with it. _When I finally get rid of that stupid Zootopia Justice League, the Canal District and everywhere we'll be in my grasp!_

It was not the kind of thoughts to be bringing up this late at night, but it was pleasing to her. Pleasing enough to get her to her "happy place" and off to rest. As it started to stick in her mind, she closed her eyes and comfortably went to sleep...

* * *

Another dream was forming inside her brain, one with very mixed emotions that unraveled as it played inside her head. She had been having relatively good ones, but this one was reliving a moment she didn't wish to be remember.

 _The moment the dream was portraying was an unfortunately familiar one, it was the time she thought it was going to go her way. Bellwether thought this time she had Nick and Judy stuck between a rock and a hard place. She thought for sure they had no escape, looking down she saw that they were stuck in the exhibit at the Zootopia Natural History Museum._

 _She took the dart gun from the case and sent him into supposedly a throbbing pain. Nick started to shake and crouch as Judy was coming closer to him in worry. Within seconds after the "dart" reached him, he entered the state of being totally savage._

 _"Fear always works!" she was shouting. "And I'll dart every predator in Zootopia to keep it that way!"_

 _Judy was trying to limp her way to the other side of the exhibit. Nick lunged forward towards her, but all of a sudden Judy removed the panicked look from her face and quickly replaced with a smirk of joy. Bellwether looked confused as Nick stood up like normal, as if he had never been truly savage at all. Even though she was trying to drown out their words, she couldn't help but hear how her darts were switched out for blueberries. Looking back at her dart gun in disbelief, she let out a grunt of anger._

 _But she started to hear something that she didn't actually hear during the actual event. It appeared to be a distant beep, starting to grow and spread around the building around her. She started to look around confused, and even Nick and Judy at the bottom of the exhibit were looking at each other with confusion. She instantly recognized it as the deafening sound of the fire alarms, looking around she tried to spot as if there was any fire around. But there was none that she could spot, the sound just kept growing and growing until..._

* * *

Bellwether bolted up out of that dream, the open window revealing that the time was just about sunrise. However, this was not a happy thing to wake up too. The only reasons the sounds of fire alarms entered her dream was because they were still audible while she was awake. It was not just the feeling of still feeling half-asleep, she was fully alert and could honestly detect that there were smoke alarms going off in the hotel. In a flash of panic, she jumped right out from the bed with adrenaline pumping through her. She wondered if she jinxed it when she talked about how she would be the only one to wake up in an emergency.

As she said jokingly before, Bellwether honestly was the only one awake in the room. Doug and Jesse were both still sleeping softly even through all the commotion. After using several rushed tactics to get them to wake up, they finally did but showed no signs of worry.

"Hey Jesse, you wanna know something?" he said, still having the feeling as if he was still dreaming.

"Yeah Doug, what's up?" Jesse replied.

"I was havin' a dream that some kind of siren was goin' off."

"Woah, it's strange you said that because I had something similar."

"That's not the crazy part though, I still feel as if I still hear something goin' off like it was in the dream."

"That's because there's fire alarms going off, you idiots!" Bellwether yelled back at them.

Doug and Jesse at those words fully woke up and were ready for whatever actions needed to be taken. Apparently in this situation the two of them were not the most collected, nor were they the most prepared. They just seemed to be in a panic and were just fumbling around the room to collect a couple things in a hurry. All Bellwether could do was roll her eyes at their actions. The most important thing right now was making sure they got themselves and their pendants out, which so far was accomplished considering they were all still wearing them. Doug and Jesse were proceeding out the door as if nothing else mattered, Bellwether seemed to drag a couple seconds behind. "Hey!" she shouted. "You guys don't wait for your boss?"

They were still holding the door open for her as she ran up to them, but down she went after she accidentally tripped on some unidentified object. The same worker who checked up on them before happened to be walking by. He slowed a little bit down after he saw that they were trying to get out of their room, and also seeing that someone was on the floor. But to add to all the unfortunate things that happened, the worst possible thing happened to Bellwether that could have occurred in that moment. As she was trying to get herself up, the pendant somehow shifted her back into her regular sheep form and back to her disguise. It was very brief, but it was just long enough for the worker to recognize that the escaped Dawn Bellwether was staying in this very hotel. He, of course, was in a little bit of a panic considering that he literally saw that before him. Fumbling into his pocket, the worker reached for his phone and tried to dial up someone to let them know that she was here.

Bellwether got herself back up. Still trying to claim her balance back, she pushed right up against a wall and placed a hoof onto her chest. Her hoof happened to slip around where the little turquoise button on the pendant. Unexpectedly, it blinked once and shot out a beam of light with a similar blue color. The beam happened to land on the worker, square in his face. He was definitely going to be okay, but because it was near his eyes it temporarily blinded him. For once, Bellwether felt bad for something like that, considering she was not conscious that it was going to happen. Gloria never told her that the button on the pendant was there for _that_ reason! Bellwether finally got the pendant to change her back to her disguised form, and with that she carried on.

They all rushed over to where the nearest exit was, meeting up with all of the others that happened to be staying on this floor. Since it was advised right now to not use the elevators, everyone found themselves flocking to the stairs. Feeling a little bit crowded, all of them proceeded to walk down to the lobby in a hurried yet orderly fashion. Bellwether could still spot some others who looked as if they totally disturbed from sleep, others were even in their pajamas. Finally getting to the bottom of the staircase, Bellwether and everyone found themselves in a very undisturbed lobby. It looked as if it nothing was the matter. There was no fire at all, nothing that looked any potential danger. Jesse feeling a little bit angered by the unnecessary amount of drama that was stirred rushed to the front desk.

"What the heck is going on?" he asked irritated. "I don't see any fire, so what's the problem? What's with the alarms?"

"Oh sorry, sir" was all the bored fox working there could reply. "Probably just a fire drill, or perhaps somebody set off the fire alarm or something. I don't know!"

Jesse let out a grunt and went back over to where Bellwether and Doug were standing. This was definitely not the way that they all wanted to wake up this morning. They wanted it to be calm, collected and full of positive motivations to get over to Gloria. And on top of everything that went down, Bellwether's pendant revealed her true form in front of that worker, and then somehow got him with the blue beam. She could not explain why she shifted back without thinking about it, she just brushed it off as a possible malfunction. But that other thing the pendant could do took her by surprise, and she knew that she was going to ask about it once they arrived.

But right now, they all stood there as everyone else made their way back up to their rooms. Right about now, they all agreed that it seemed like a good time to check out and proceed with the rest of the plan.

* * *

 **Later That Morning...**

Nick was getting himself ready for the day as he was watching the morning news. After a couple of stories that weren't really grabbing his attention, once appeared as breaking news that made him rush over to the living room and turn up the volume. He could not believe what he was seeing, the headline read " _Bellwether Potentially Spotted In Canal District"._

"The breaking news this morning is that Bellwether was potentially spotted in the Canal District," the anchorman said. "Sources say that she was staying at a hotel there when a fire drill occurred. No further information is available at this time, but we will keep you updated on this report."

As he found himself glued to the television as it switched over to the weather, Nick heard the sound of an up-beat ringtone coming from close by. Recognizing it was from his watch phone, he swiped it open and saw that a call from Judy was coming through. "Hey Carrots, what's going on?" he said.

"Did you see the news?" she asked, her voice displaying some excitement. "They think that they spotted Bellwether in the Canal District!"

"Yeah, I'm watching the news right now. I saw that too, can't believe someone actually saw her."

"I can't either. So anyway, should we get down to headquarters? Perhaps Bogo can let us know our next move now that we have some information."

"Sounds good, Fluff."

"Okay, in that case I'll be teleporting over in a little bit."

After that she ended the call, Nick stood there patiently waiting for her to appear. This time he was ready for her arrival, unlike the other times when she appeared and caught him off guard. _Zip!_ Judy appeared right in front of him again and placed a paw in his. "Bellwether better be ready, 'cause were coming for her!" she said in a motivating spirit.

"Ready?" he asked as the two of them walked to the front door to leave.

"Oh yeah, when it comes to this I was born ready!"


	10. Gloria

Nothing was going according to plan. After everything that had just happened, that was the one thing that Bellwether was certain of. Staring off into the distance as the three of them made their way down the street, she hoped in her head that they would reach their destination quicker without complications. But she knew inside that it only be a short period of time before something occurred unexpectedly. Letting out a deep sigh, she got all of her bustling thoughts collected and all in a row. Startling her from her thinking, she detected a close-sounding vibration followed by a slight dinging sound. Bellwether quickly came to her senses and realized that the sounds were coming from her own communicator. Turning the screen on, she saw a notification indicating that she received a message from Gloria. _What could this be?_ She swiped the notification bubble and the menu loaded up. What appeared was a message that was a lot longer than what she would normally receive:

 _Is everything okay? Hoping it is after what I heard. Saw what happened at that hotel and I'm sorry that your trek isn't going that well, never said those pendants would be perfect. Anyhow, what you need to do now is make your way out of the downtown area and over to where the boat docks are. When you get there, there'll be a small tour vendor called "Floats Your Boat". Ask the man that works there for the guided tour and add into it that I sent you. Trust me, he'll understand exactly what you're saying. While I might not like too many people, the guy that runs that boat is someone I can trust. He's helped me in the_ _past when it came to getting from place to place. If you go to the vendor, I assure you that it's a quicker way to get to my place without any problems. Hope everything goes well, stay safe! And by the way, regarding some things about the pendants, I promise that I'll explain it to you when you get here._

Clicking the communicator into sleep mode, Bellwether looked at her two minions with an urge to get to their destination. The three of them proceeded in the direction that the navigator told them to go. Within a brief amount of time, they no longer found themselves downtown. They now found themselves in an area that was near the water. To the left of them, many vendors were offering guided boat tours across the Canal District to other destinations. On the other side, they could see several brightly-colored shops (preferably referred to as tourist traps) all selling trinkets and souvenirs. However, both in front of them and behind them were large amounts of visitors all making their way down the walkway. While it wasn't a gigantic crowd (like those of the busier areas in Zootopia), it was still a bit too busy for Bellwether. There was almost nothing they could do but keep an insanely low profile and walk casually with the crowd.

Eventually they came across what looked like a way to possibly escape the crowds and reassess everything. It appeared to be a sort of lookout area, in which one could walk out to get better views of the water. Lucky enough for them, there was barely anyone occupying this area. There was the occasional tourist or photographer, but they all appeared to be at different spots and not at the very edge of the observance area. Bellwether knew immediately that this is where they would go, and hopefully that this would be somewhere they wouldn't be disturbed.

The trio made their way over to the very edge of the area, casually looking at the scenery in an attempt to look like nothing more than unsuspecting tourists. The sky was clearer than ever, glistening and casting its brightness upon the reflection the water. The water and everything within it was completely at peace, with the occasional boat passing by and causing ripples in the distance. It was a pretty and picturesque little scene, but now was not the time to just sit around and lazily observe. Right now, Bellwether needed to let Doug and Jesse in on the next steps that, if all goes according to plan, would lead them directly to Gloria without any trouble.

Leaning her head up, she got one last glimpse of the shimmering views of the water. It was funny to her that when you were taking on another form for disguise, you seemed to see everything just a little bit differently. It was as if you got a completely different set of eyes, and were taking things from an entirely different perspective. Turning around to face Doug and Jesse, she let out a deep breath and took a seat on a small black bench that was conveniently behind them.

"So what's the plan, boss?" Doug asked, ending the moment of silence.

"We're taking a shortcut," Bellwether started to reply, keeping her voice down to prevent any possible suspicion. Loading the message back up that Gloria sent, she showed Doug and Jesse the name of the boat vendor they needed to search for. "We have to get to this guy, and when we do we'll get a quick route straight to Gloria."

Doug and Jesse both nodded politely in agreement. The three of them made their way back to where most of the action was. Walking back down to the where out of the boats were set up, they began to scope the scene for any sign of Floats Your Boat. All of the vendors were practicallly at their capacity, lines of all different sizes patiently waiting for their opportunity to get on the next tour. They continued onward without seeing anything that matched what Gloria was talking about. As they were reaching the very end of the vendor area, they finally came across what they were looking for. Only a short distance from where they were stood a small establishment with two boats resting behind it. While all of the other admission stands were decorated with bright colors, this one appeared to just be decked in a simple but bland shade of white. Above the stand was a plain sign that was printed in black letters that read _Floats Your Boat._ No doubt that this was the establishment that Gloria was talking about.

For Bellwether's standards, this vendor was running at a pretty low quality. But if this was what Gloria trusted to get them to her, then it was exactly what they all needed to do. Retracting the full-body cringe that the plainness of the stand sent her, she proceeded closer to ask what she was instructed to. Much to her dismay, however, there was a big line that were waiting to sign up for their tours. It didn't make sense to her, she thought for sure there wouldn't be any hold-up getting on here.

After a brief moment of waiting with impatience, the line started to die down a little bit. Both of the boats that were originally sitting on their stands in preparation were in the water, navigating their way out before taking an abrupt left turn. But fortunately for them a third boat was approaching, stopping right up at the dock where they enter and exit. A small amount of people got off that boat and walked off, now was the chance for Bellwether and her minions to score their own personal boat ride. She could only count two or three people behind them at the moment, and now they were the next to approach the vendor for admissions. Bellwether pantomimed for Jesse to step forward and ask the worker what Gloria said to, also giving him an expression that to him read " _Don't screw anything up"._

"So what can I do for y'all this afternoon?" asked the older but friendly-looking worker.

"The tour for three," Jesse replied. He was doing as much as he possibly could to not sound conspicuous. The worker turned around to grab some sort of brochure but was interrupted when Jesse started to speak again. "Uh, Gloria sent us here."

He didn't expect those words to do much, but much to his surprise they did. The worker stopped what he was doing and immediately flicked the sign that said he was open to closed. The three tourists that were waiting behind them were beginning to look a little confused, curious as to why the stand just abruptly stopped running. Getting off from his seat and out from the stand, he walked over to the dock and gestured for Jesse to come forward. Bellwether and Doug both immediately followed after them, heading down closer to where the small power boat sat idle in the water. A silver guarding rail was closed tightly behind them, checked twice to reassure that there was no way anyone was trying to get across. It was indeed some strange behavior, but there was no doubt that the trio hasn't already seen some strange things so far. The worker (who they now needed to refer to as their captain) got inside the boat and did a quick inspection over everything.

"So y'all gettin' in 'ere or what?" he said. With those words the three of them got on board, taking their loads of on some seats near the stern of the boat. Now relaxed on the cushioned seats, they started to get comfortable as they were getting ready to head out. Jesse, however, was not as comfortable as the rest of them. While he wasn't hydrophobic by any means, he was a little nervous when his eyes dotted towards the small notice sticker that showed them what to do in an emergency. But Bellwether told him to dismiss any of those possibilities, because the captain of the boat said they've never had to use those life jackets since they started.

Eventually the captain insured that everything was in good condition, and within a few minutes they were off. Starting off at a slow pace before steadily picking up speed. In the middle of the water they were now in, there came a division in paths that was naturally created by some tree growth. While Bellwether watched all the normal boat tours take the left when they reached here, they instead did the exact opposite and took the alternate path. Now it began to look like a nature preserve on both sides, offering the trio with views of pure and unadulterated serenity.

Once they went further down this watery path, Bellwether had good faith that she could put her mind at ease for a short time. Becoming more relaxed inside the seat she occupied, she began to shut off all of her thoughts and simply take in the scenery. It easier said than done, but it didn't kill her to relax for just a few minutes before getting back into action.

The views were becoming more and more picturesque as the boat took a steady right turn among the naturally-formed pathway. It was beginning to look like something out of a photograph, and yet Bellwether was seeing it in the flesh. A short amount of time passed and the boat made another right turn. Soon the boat found itself no longer in that pretty little scene of nature. Now the only thing that they could really look at was the water, encumbassing them on both of their sides. Far out in the distance, something started come closer into their view. Yards and yards away stood a piece of land, and on it rested what appeared to be some sort of gated estate or large home. The estate was gated on all sides, two floors and judging by the overall size was a large amount of square footage. Bellwether knew immediately who was the occupant of that glorious place, it was none other than Gloria herself. Doug and Jesse looked at each other with much enthusiasm, what they had been impatiently anticipating was finally coming up.

The boat got closer and closer to Gloria's estate before finally coming to a stop at a convenient dock at the end of her land. While Gloria was not the one to have visitor without her overall approval, the dock worked out as a way to bring the guests in if they came to her by boat. The trio slowly exited their boat and stepped their way up onto the dock.

"Y'all have a nice day!" the captain cried out before taking off.

Bellwether looked back as the boat was revved up and noisily pulled away. She knew there had to be some kind of force watching over them, because making it this far without something bad happening was only the work of miracles. She had went through quite a lot to get here, but the complications could finally fade to gray. They now stood at the estate of none other than Gloria, and nothing could possibly stop them now.

* * *

Doug and Jesse stared at the tall, black gates that guarded the entire estate from any possible outsiders. They were still in awe at seeing this place with their own eyes, highly anticipating what was waiting for them on the inside. The three walked closer to the gates, pausing at what appeared to be some sort of intercom system on the left side of them. Bellwether pressed the system's button and was greeted by a deep buzzing sound. All of a sudden, a camera started to stretch out from the other side the gate. Doug and Jesse weren't even sure where it exactly was originally hiding, but it sure was clever in their minds. The camera looked down at Bellwether and her minions, followed by a familiar voice.

"Alright, who is this?" Gloria said through the other end of the intercom. The camera zoomed out a little further and slightly adjusted its lens. Apparently it wasn't recognizing them, but once it caught sight of the pendants around their necks it confirmed that they were trustworthy. The camera quickly reversed its motions and returned to its original position. The gates slowly opened up, welcoming the trio into what Gloria might have referred to as her personal domain.

Walking their ways up the paved walkway, they proceeded through what appeared to be a garden of some sort. It offered Gloria a splash of color to the outside of her estate, as well as give her another area to escape to for serenity. She always said to Bellwether that whenever life through nonsense at her, she would go to the gardens (that is if she wasn't working on any new form of advanced gadgetry). From under a space in between flower beds, a smaller and more compact popped up. It scoped them out as they approached the front door, blinking with a red light that indicated that their actions were probably being observed or recorded. The camera eventually popped back under into the flower bed, realizing that there was no potential sign of intruders or unwanted guests.

The three of them finally got to the front door of her estate, eager to discuss the next steps in putting their plans into action. Stepping onto the welcome mat, Bellwether was greeted by yet another security camera on her right. But this time it simply closed its lens up and shut down, presumably by Gloria cutting the power to prevent anymore confusion in the system. She proceeded to ring the doorbell out of courtesy, but was interrupted when Gloria's voice came through another intercom speaker.

"Don't worry 'bout the doorbell!" her voice rang out. "I know it's you, just come on in."

And with those words, the front door automatically opened itself, providing some sense of greeting into the estate. Stepping inside, the temperature went from that of the beating sun to the refreshingly cool feeling of the indoors. It was quite a relief to feel that, and it was also another relief to be able to remove the pendants from their necks. Knowing that there was literally no sign of danger, they took them off and all reverted back to their original forms. It felt so strange being something that weren't for such a long period of time, and while they were actually beginning to like it, it felt better to just be themselves.

As they proceeded forward from the hallway, they approached what appeared to be some of gigantic living room. Into their view came gorgeous furniture, a curved flat-screen television, a beautiful black piano, and a priceless crystal chandelier that was hanging above them and illuminating the entire room. On their left was a gorgeous-looking staircase that lead upwards to whatever awaited them on the top floor. Doug and Jesse were already flabbergasted, it was like looking into the house of someone on reality TV.

"Geez, how in the world could she possibly afford a place like this?" Doug asked awestruck.

"Yeah," Jesse said chiming in. "She must've had a big start-up or something."

 _If they're already worked up, just wait until they see the rest of the place,_ Bellwether thought. The faint yet audible clicking sound of hooves hitting floor came from above them, followed by an unusually welcoming voice.

"I see you guys made it here in one piece," Gloria called from somewhere out of their sight. "And Dawn, I also see that your minions can't get enough of my place."

The stepping sound of hooves started to get closer and closer, until the shadow of a figure reflected into the halls. The owner of that shadow finally made its appearance around the upstairs hall and carefully down the staircase. Coming down to greet them was a black sheep dressed in what appeared to be premium-brand attire. While she may have had a small and deceivingly fragile appearance like Bellwether, she wore a look on her face that could only be defined as villainous. Smiling widely, Dawn was greeted with much excitement. While normally she tried to hide and disguise any large amounts of enthusiasm, Gloria could not contain any of it at the moment. It had been a long time since both of them saw each other face to face, but it felt to reunite after Dawn's big escape. They were for certain that there was something big planned, and there was nothing to try to get in their way.

Suddenly a drone flew out from where Gloria had appeared and began flying its way down the same direction towards the crew. Doug and Jesse looked at it with a little confusion, they were told that this place was chock-full of technology but they never expected to instantaneously be _greeted_ by it. It stopped in front of Gloria and Bellwether.

"Smile!" Gloria said enthusiastically. Bellwether quickly conjured up the happiest look she could ever create before the flash came from the drone's camera. Gloria quickly after that opened her phone up and checked her photos, the picture clouded and was how she wanted it to look.

"W-what was that about?" Bellwether asked.

"We need _some kind_ of photo to mark the day we strike back," Gloria replied followed by a small laugh. "Now, where was I?"

Doug got a closer look at the drone as it slowly lifted up further towards the ceilings and back to its original position. He could recognize its design naturally. It was not just any brand, it was a _Phantom._ Specifically, he recognized that the drone was a model called _Spyglass_ , as it had the ability to get crystal-clear picture quality, Those things were expensive to buy in just about any electronics store around Zootopia, so she had to have spent a lot to get one. All he did was simply watch it fly back and listen to the buzzing sound of its small propellers, the sound of Gloria's voice woke him out of that technological trance.

"You like the drone?" Gloria said, surprised that he had taken so much interest in that one little gadget of hers. "Because if you're really that interested, I've got a couple more where that came from."

"Seriously?" he replied. "How did you get your hooves on something so amazing? Those things are on the market for-"

"You know the makers of that wonderful brand? Well you're looking at one of them!"

With those words, Doug's jaw practically dropped to the floor. It was astonishing enough to see the drone in person, and an entirely different to see its actual creator. He was wondering if she was just playing with him, but according to the look of pride in her face he knew she wasn't lying.

"Are you serious?" Doug asked, his voice a mix of total shock and enthusiasm.

"Yep, I'm being dead serious," she replied full of self-esteem. "How else do you think I was able to acquire everything you see here? Don't you realize that _Phantom_ is one of the most successful companies of its kind here in Zootopia? Thanks to my great ideas for the drone designs, I was able to launch _Phantom_ and later on live the greatest life I possibly could,"

"I didn't realize that-"

"Now wait just a minute!" Jesse chimed in, interrupting Doug. "If this here drone of yours was so successful, why aren't ya still workin' with 'em? Why'd ya all of a sudden turn to what your doin' now?"

"Well as much as I hated to do it," Gloria replied. " _Phantom_ was getting a lot of success and a merger was making quite the offer. The time was right and the offer couldn't be refused, so I guess you could say I sold out the company. While I'm still remembered as the _original_ maker, I made so much more off of that deal."

Jesse got another glimpse of all of the luxurious and materialistic goods that surrounded them. _Yeah,_ he thought. _No doubt at all that ya made more of that deal!_

Gloria got a close look at the pendant that Dawn now had firmly in her hoof's grasp.

"I also see that you got the pendants," she remarked. "Aren't they just amazing, if I do say so myself?"

"Yeah, about that" Bellwether began to reply. "You owe me an explanation! You said these things change my from, am I right? So what the heck was with that other thing hidden in there?"

"Other thing? Oh yes, I know what you mean! You're talking about that blue button, aren't you?"

"Heck yes, I am! It shot some kind of beam out of it that I didn't want to. And on top of that, it hit one of the hotel workers and temporarily blinded him."

"So that's what went wrong at that hotel?"

"Dang right! There was some kind of fire drill goin' on that we had to take part in, so I'm tryin' to leave and guess what happens? The pendant falls off, I get recognized, and when I get up I fumble over the button and all of a sudden-"

The words were coming out of Bellwether's mouth so fast that she was completely unaware of accidentally setting off the button on the pendant a second time. Just like it did in the hotel, a turquoise-colored beam shot out, but this time it began to ricochet off of all the large walls of Gloria's estate. Doug and Jesse ducked for cover as the beam zoomed across the open space, bouncing off of Gloria's priceless belongings like the ball in a pinball machine. The beam nearly broke the top of several pieces of ceramic pottery that rested on a decorated black table, all before slowly running out of kinetic energy and dissipating. Gloria took a deep breath out, relieved that none of her priceless decorations were damaged by the beam. Bellwether started to have a guilty look upon her face. While Gloria would never hold a grudge if something was broke (as friendship was a lot more priceless than some decoration), it was still something she didn't wish to do at the moment.

"Look, I am _so_ sorry." Bellwether quickly apologized. "That didn't mean to-"

"It's no big deal, it's not your fault that there's a beam in that pendant." Gloria said. "Anyway, I apologize for not pointing that out ahead of time. That blue button as you already found out is an engineered defense mechanism."

"Yeah, no kidding! Anyway can we get to the bottom of things?"

"Most certainly, I'd hate to drag things any further since there's already been a long enough wait. Now if you'd join me out back, we can get down to business."

* * *

 **Meanwhile...**

Once again, Nick and Judy found themselves walking through the darkened halls to get to the entrance of headquarters. The descent down here was a lot more swift, unlike the last time where the elevator was having a complication on the way down. They were continuing to walk towards the hall at a hurried pace. Feeling totally excited for what was about to happen, she was making sure she got to the door as quick as her paws could carry her. As more excitement filled the two, she teleported her way over to where the massive door stood. Smiling widely, Judy proceeded to place a paw against the handle and open up the entrance. But suddenly...

Z _ip!_ Judy suddenly teleported twice. She stopped right in the middle of the hall before abruptly teleporting over to where she originally was, leaning against the entrance to catch her breath a second. _What was that_ she wondered with a confused expression across her face. _I didn't mean to teleport like that, so why did that just_ _happened?_

Nick snickered under his breath, thinking this was just intentionally another one of Judy's shenanigans. Only this time it wasn't, and she was a little confused as to why he took this a joke. "Woah" he said. "Looks like somebody's excited to get to work."

"No" she replied. "Honestly, I didn't mean to do that."

Judy just looked up at Nick still seeming a little confused, all he could do to reply was let out a little laugh. He was still under the impression that she was messing with him (as she had pulled her fair share of jokes before). But this time she needed him to take it seriously, because as impossible as it was, there was obviously something wrong with her powers.

"Nick, I'm being serious! It seemed like my power was glitching and somehow I managed to get here quicker than I thought. But what doesn't make any sense to me is that I wasn't thinking about where to teleport to, so why did that happen? I think there's something wrong with-"

Before she could finish her sentence, the teleportation started up again. This time Nick was actually able to see and understand what she meant. _Zip!_ She was standing a couple inches behind him.

 _Zip!_ She was now standing on the far side of the hall where the elevator was. _Zip!_ By this time, she right back where she started. Placing a paw against the entrance, she tried to catch her breath. It was understandable to teleport multiple times in action, but even that it didn't occur this abruptly. "Now you see what I mean?" she said. All Nick could do was nod politely, but he still had a couple questions.

"But how is that even possible?" he asked. "Your powers were just fine the other day, and it seemed to work normally when you teleported to my place. So why is it glitching all of a sudden?"

"I really can't answer that" she answered. "Like I said before, were heroes but we're far from perfect. Heck, even after having powers for so long, I'm not a master of them. After all, our superpowers didn't come with instructions. Not sure why this is happening, but-"

 _Zip!_

It happened again! Within the matter of a few quick seconds, she ended up teleporting all over the hall again. Going backwards, right on Nick's side and back to leaning against the door. This was definitely something that she needed to figure out. After all, they were taking down Bellwether, and she couldn't have glitching superpowers when the time came to use them.

Bogo slowly opened up the door and greeted them. Unlike the last time they were over here, he appeared to be in much happier spirits than before. "Well guys," he said to them. "You two came by just in time to see what new intel we got. Follow me!"

* * *

 **Author's Note: It's been awhile since I've posted another chapter, but I'd like to offer my apologies for the delay. Writer's block is a royal pain, but now that I've combated it I'll be attempting to post a little more frequently. Anyway, that does for this chapter. It's not the best I could've done but** **hopefully** **you guys enjoyed this chapter.**


	11. Chapter 11

Headquarters started to blink brighter and brighter to life as Nick and Judy took a step inside. Sitting in his assumed position, Bogo was spotted once again scanning his eyes across the large monitor.

"Alright, so what's the intel?" Judy asked letting out a deep sigh. She had been trying to dismiss the power glitch she had just experienced before they came inside. She was praying that she could figure out what's wrong with her teleportation before something bad happened. They were chasing Bellwether after all, and that meant that she couldn't arrive to the scene with a power that was far from super. She put on a bright complexion to try to cover up the fact something was troubling her at the moment, although it was still evident from her look that she wasn't being completely truthful. Lucky for her, Bogo's eyes weren't focused on her or Nick. Instead they were rather buried within the brightness of the giant monitor.

After punching in a few commands into the supercomputer, the heavily detailed map of the districts in Zootopia popped up once again. This time zooming in away from everything else on the map and solely panning into the Canal District. A few seconds of loading later, a few orange icons started to appear in a certain spot. Upon looking further into the details of the location, the computer seemed to register that the last spotting of Bellwether was the docks.

"Here we are," Bogo said to the duo standing on the sides of him. "Last time our systems registered something, they detected that she for some reason was at the Canal Docks."

"The Canal Docks? More like 'Canal Tourist Trap' if you ask me," Nick joked.

"That's only if you fall for their trap," Judy replied, knowing that it potentially start a friendly yet heated debate about the last time they were visiting that district. "After all, it was _you_ who fell those overpriced trinkets in that aquatic-looking shop down there. Twenty dollars for a magnet, and don't get me started on the fact that it was a ridiculous amount of money for one of those cheesy postcards."

"Hey, it's the fact that it was from somewhere we went that made it special. And it was their fault for making everything stand out like that. Trust me, you would've bought something just as pricy if I let ya!"

"Please stop it, you two!" Bogo boomed. "Now is _definitely_ not the time for your foolishness! Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, so Bellwether's last motions were detected by her scanning the perimeters of the docks. But here's where things get a little strange..."

Bogo upon saying that crunched a few more lines of code into the computer, the monitor rebooted itself to show the path that the sensors appeared to follow. The orange line which was interpreted as the guided direction of the motion appeared to go forwards and backwards several times down the same perimeter. It did that twice before making a sharp turn to the side, from there the line went a few inches into the water before blinking several times to indicate that the sensors lost track of the suspect. This was obviously the system's recap of all the previously detected motions that could potentially be used to collect some information on Bellwether's whereabouts. The lines disappeared from the screen and the monitor reloaded itself to its original look.

"Now you both saw what I did, right?" Bogo asked. Nick and Judy simply nodded their heads in agreement, they as well noticed that something weird was happening. "It appeared that she was scanning the area, but then all of a sudden she just turns in that one specific spot and heads for the water. It doesn't make any sense, but then again nothing seems to be with this situation."

"Yeah," Judy began to reply. "It doesn't make sense to me either. I know that there's boats and stuff down in that area, but what would she go on one for? And more importantly, _where_ would she be going? From the where the line appears to track into after turning, it looks like she's going into nowhere. Bogo, is there _any_ further information that can give us an idea of wherever she might've went?"

With those words, Bogo did as much as he possibly could and began typing in yet another command. The three all stared at the monitor, solely focusing upon it and nothing more. There was a brief pause in between when Bogo typed the action and when the screen loaded, it slightly began to test their patience. After all, they needed the most information as soon as they could get a hold of it! Five more seconds had passed, the screen slowly rebooted the map but followed with something they were _definitely_ hoping they wouldn't come across. An error message filled the majority of the screen, a black rectangle-shaped icon with red computerized letters reading out the further details. While most of the words that appeared on the giant warning was a lot of technical code and unrecognizable information, they were able to make out some of what it was saying. From what the three got out of it, it appeared that wherever Bellwether traveled to on the water was out of range and couldn't be fully indicated by their sensors.

The idea of her destination being unrecognizable made them deeply think, playing out the possible scenarios as to why something like this would show up. After all, they had good faith that there headquarters was installed with some of the finest technology. The sensors in their supercomputer were some of the most accurate when it came to using such technology, so what was it about where Bellwether was going that caused some sort of confusion in the system? Could it have been that there sensors were simply not as strong as they originally thought they were? Was it that her final destination was isolated, or perhaps not even displaying enough information to even appear on their screens? Did she somehow have something that made _her_ unrecognizable regardless of the situation? Or maybe this was all some sort of elaborately-planned game that she was playing, done intentionally to cause confusion within the league before she makes her strike. They could go on forever discussing all of the potential possibilities, but that wouldn't make the situation any better.

Bogo simply let out a heavy sigh and stretched his neck out, covering his eyes with both hooves. No one really liked to admit that they were wrong or unprepared for things, but he was _certainly_ not the type that liked admit to some sort of mistake. Considering that he was practically commanding the Zootopia Justice League that was responsible for keeping the citizens out of harm's way, there was definitely a lot of weight placed upon his shoulders. This was totally not his day, and nor was it the happiest of times for the other heroes either. They simply joined in and sighed alongside, Bellwether was now practically invisible despite what they could do.

"Alright," Bogo said after the brief moment of silence. "We're not gonna get anywhere if we're all having one big pity-party. Here's what we need probably need to do..."

He started to give out some of the instructions for finding potential information, but his words started to fade out and become no longer audible in Judy's mind. This was an important and serious matter that needed to be resolved as soon as possible, but for some reason the even more important instructions Bogo were being drowned out in her head. Maybe it was just because things were _actually_ beginning to look bleak for the heroes, as if they were finally going to be outsmarted once and for all. Judy was always the one that was severely optimistic both on and off the league, but oddly enough that side of her was just not showing.

"Judy?" Bogo called out, realizing that Judy hadn't been paying as much attention as she normally would. "You feeling okay?"

"Y-yeah," she replied. "Sorry I-I guess my thoughts just kinda wandered off."

"Well how's not the time to be thinkin' about anything else," Bogo replied. "Now what you need to do is pay attention to this part, as this applys specificallly to you and Nick. The intel we've received throughout are reports indicated Bellwether was traveling in the Canal District, right?"

Both Nick and Judy nodded politely in agreement.

Bogo continued. "I'm thinking that what we oughta do this time around is send you both out to the Canal District. You two have always worked well together through thick and thin, so it seems like the best idea that we can come up with right about now."

"So what about you?" Judy asked. It seemed strange to her to do something like this, as the rest of the league _always_ joined in on the pursuit for whatever it was that was lurking. "You've been with us to fight with every case we've taken on. So what will you be doing if you're not coming to the Canal District to work alongside us?"

"What I proposed is that you and Nick proceed forward, and I can just serve as the monitor until we get closer to our suspect. So I'll be serving as a guide throughout your treks, if you will."

"So you're leading us throughout the mission?" Nick asked.

"You've got it!" Bogo replied.

"So in a nutshell, you're practically our bellwether for finding Bellwether?" Nick couldn't help but joke. It was unnecessary in such an eventful situation, but he did have that sly personality that he had to keep. Judy placed her paw over her mouth to try and hide the fact that she abruptly went into a small spree of giggling. The seemingly unfortunate joke actually caused her mind to, for a short time, go out of the worried mode that it was still slightly in.

"I'm sorry," Judy said in between the little spree of laughter. "That _was_ a good one, Nick."

"Not that funny, Wilde!" Bogo boomed.

A spark of a sudden and unfortunate feeling began to rush over Judy's body. It was the feeling that normally encompassed her when she was beginning to commence teleportation. It had just been under control for these last few moments, so why all of a sudden did it need to start acting up now? _Not now, please don't start right now!_

She tried to put all of her thoughts in one direction, using as much energy as she could draw to prevent the teleportation from acting up. After continuously affirming herself that nothing was wrong and there was no glitch within her power, she felt the feeling of it occurring beginning to dissipate. Within those few brief moments, she stopped something bad from happening.

"Whew!" Judy accidentally found herself mouthing out loud. "That was a close c-"

 _Warp!_ Before she could even mouth out the rest of her sentence, the worst possible scenario started to occur. She started to sporadically teleport to various areas throughout the main hub of headquarters, blinking in and out of the locations at a rapid speed. Nick shook his head at what was happening as Bogo simply watched in shock with his mouth agape. He was quite unsure what was happening. Judy eventually came to a screeching halt and teleported back to where she was originally standing, standing there breathless and trying to recollect herself. _Why?_ she thought. _Out of all times, why did it have to act up now? I was just fine not only a few seconds ago!_

She let out a small amount of laughter as she looked up at Bogo, her face attempting to look innocent but obviously displaying an amount of guilt that couldn't be covered up. "What was that exactly?" Bogo asked, his face now giving off the impression that he was in need of a much-required explanation. Judy simply took a step back and regained her momentum, this was definitely something else to add on the list of things that couldn't be explained.

Bogo simply turned around and put his hooves together, an trigger and confused expression brushed across him. "I honestly don't know what that just was," he said. "But we better have an explanation for it."

"Judy's powers were glitchin' when we were on our way in," Nick said with honesty. Judy looked rather upset that she ran into the problem again and revealed it onto Bogo, she was now starting to worry if she was going to be out of the case because of it. She solved the night-howler incidents and faced tons of perilous things along the way, so why was something like this going to hold her back? After everything the city has thrown at her throughout her crime-fighting and super-powered work, she highly doubted that something like this was going to keep her out of the case and leave her to watch on the sidelines.

"So that was some of the commotion I heard going on outside," Bogo said, now feeling like he received the explanation that he needed. "I could've sworn I heard Judy's power goin' off earlier, but I just dismissed then and thought it was just me."

Judy let out a heavy sigh and looked up at Bogo worriedly. "Yeah, Nick's right. My power has been acting a little strange lately, I can't explain why though. It was just a fine a short time ago, but now it seems like I have no control over when this is gonna happen next."

"No need to get all anxious about it, Hopps," Bogo replied. "It's not like we've never had some kind of setback before."

"I know, but what if this stops me from being able to help fight Bellwether again?" Judy replied back, her voice actually starting to sound a little bit worried. And by a little bit, she was meaning more than what she would be normally ever feel like. "Or what if I _do try_ to take her on again and I get injured 'cause my power acts up? I can't let this thing-"

"Judy," Bogo said, interrupting her rushing scenarios of what could go wrong. "You need to hear me out for just a minute. I don't know what it is that's causing it, but we're gonna figure it out, okay? What we're gonna do is try and perform some kind of scan and see what's going wrong with your powers, and from there we can figure out the rest."

* * *

 **Meanwhile...**

The trio followed Gloria as she lead them to the other side of the main living room of her luxurious abode. Gesturing for them to follow her upstairs, Gloria lead the trio up the goregeously-finished spiral staircase. Doug and Jesse _still_ appeared to be in a small amount of awe thanks to the brilliance and overall fanciness of the estate. It honestly didn't seem real to them, like something that they would only see on one of those television shows. Once they made their way up the stairs, the four sheep made an abrupt turn right and followed across the main hallway of the second floor. Making another right and reaching the very end of this area, they stumbled across a large white door that appeared to be locked. The door was huge with a surprising amount of security added to it. Gloria took a few more steps forward typed a few digits into what appeared to be some sort of miniture security system.

 _Geez,_ Doug thought, _Exactly how much security measures does she go through to keep all of this stuff a secret?_

After a few seconds, the system let out a sound indicating that the code was correct and the tumblers within the door unlocked for them. Reaching for the knob and opening the door gently, Gloria gestured for all of them to enter with a welcoming attitude and a slight smile across her face. There wasn't much light coming from the room that Gloria opened up to, the only thing giving a sense of life to it was the faint illumination coming from what appeared to be some sort of computer monitor. Now that the door was unlocked and they could see inside, Doug and Jesse both saw that the room was _a lot_ larger than what it appeared to be on the outside. The door appeared to be a mere illusion and a trick on the eyes. Bellwether began to step inside as Gloria waved once more to enter, Doug and Jesse were still as statues and struck with anticipation of what awaited them on the other side. The two of them looked like two kits opening presents on Christmas morning. After a brief moment of stillness, the two of them followed the lead of their boss.

"Now remember what I said," she whispered as quiet as she could, still attempting to keep a stern feeling in her voice. "Don't mess with anything and don't do anything stupid, you hear?"

While Bellwether wasn't as surprised with the awe striking sights (as she had been in touch with Gloria on different occasions), the jaws of Doug and Jesse would've dropped to the floor if it were possible. Within the dimly lit room, some of the most high-tech and amazing gear encompassed the area. Gadgetry big and small stood with their places of pride among the room. There appeared to be no sort of window with in the area to provide some kind of natural light, the only things providing it were the luminous glows of the computer screens and some of the fluorescent tubes of different color lighting.

Gloria took her load off in the swivel chair that was right in front of three fairly large computer monitors, all of which appeared to be doing different tasks simultaneously. The leftmost screen was showing coverage of her security system footage, the one on the further right doing some sort of scan or update to the main system, and the larger one in the middle stood still with colored words of code typed out against a plain white background. This appeared to be Gloria's main control station, and better yet where some of her best gadgetry was programmed and created in.

"As you can see, this is the main operating system to pretty much everything I've got in store," Gloria explained. "I can practically do just about anything right here from this main screen, it's just a simple line of code and it's done!"

"Woah," Jesse replied, because that was about all that he could really say in this moment.

"Welcome to the queen's palace," Gloria said back with pride, her attention focusing the comment towards Doug and Jesse. "This is the place where all the magic happens!"

Doug's attention went away from the monitor and over to the right corner of the room, where an array of different and unusual devices stood unaltered in their own unique little area. He was able to recognize what was on the very top of this shelf: Another one of the drones from the brand that he now learned was actually Gloria's. He recognized that it was the _Phantom_ brand of drone, but the entire thing looked busted up. It appeared to have taken on a very disastrous crash. The paint job on it looked scratched up and the one propeller seemed broken and without a barrier to protect it.

"I see that you're eyeing that up," Gloria said. "That was my _first_ test model for what later became the Phantom drone. As you can probably tell, this thing took quite a crash when I took it out for its first test run."

"Hey, what's this?" Jesse said as he held a gadget that looked quite similar to a digital camera.

"Oh, be careful with that!" Gloria replied, quickly turning around to alert him. "That thing's got a Memory-Erasing Flash, it'll erase anyone's memory from the last thirty seconds."

But her words of caution were apparently too late, as Jesse already pressed the button on the gadget. A flash of bright light came from it and partially blinded him.

"Hey, what's this?" Jesse ended up asking again, looking down at the gadget puzzled. That thing very well _could_ take the last moments from memory, and Jesse found himself now under the effects of it.

"What did I tell you idiots?" Bellwether snapped. "Don't touch _anything!_ "

"I-I'm not touchin' anything," Jesse replied still in confusion. "I'm still tryna figure out what just happened."

Bellwether rolled her eyes at her minion's antics, turning around to face Gloria she began to peek interest in what she prepared for their plan. While the first thing they were discussing was only a minor step in her plan for sabotage, what was planned out would be just enough to let the citizens of Zootopia that she was the wrong one to mess with. "So what else do ya got for me?"

Gloria got up from where she was previously seated and headed towards a shelf near her. From there, she pulled out a white, gun-looking gadget from one of the stands. It was blank in color, thick around and experimental in appearance. In the middle of the gadget was some sort of control panel, with buttons on it that resembled those off of a basic television remote. Upon Gloria flicking the switch, the gadget turned on and filled the area with beeping a faint noise that implied that it was charging up with power.

"Say hello to one of my latest projects," Gloria announced. "This here was another result of some other experimental technology, combining several different capabilities and bundling them all into one little machine. Just watch!"

A flick of a switch and the press of a button, and the machine began to charge up a second. The cylinder head of the gadget started to open up as Gloria aimed at a glass that stood empty by the computer's desk. Once it was fully activated, the machine dispensed a mass of energy that came out in a bright blue color (similar to the security measure that was found within the pendants). The blue energy ejected and encompassed itself around the cup, bringing it up from where it was seated and into the air as Gloria lifted the gadget upwards. Doug and Jesse, once again, couldn't believe what they were seeing.

She switched the machine off and the cup fell to the floor with a slight thud. "So what do you think of that? Perfect tool to have along with us, if I do say so myself."

"W-what exactly is that?" Doug asked. "I-I mean you defied gravity there a second ago."

"You got that right!" she answered full of self-pride. "This thing here is equipped with anti-gravity technology, a zero-point energy field manipulator and is sure to never come across any errors, as I've programmed this thing with some pretty complicated algorithms."

"You did what now?" Jesse asked, all of the technological stuff that Gloria was talking about was _far_ beyond his comprehension.

Gloria let out a sigh and attempted to dumb it down. "In the simplest of terms, this thing's hi-tech and is sure to never run into a problem."

" _Now_ I know what ya mean!"

She rolled her eyes before lifting the gadget up and looking back down at it with pride. "I'm quite proud with the end result of this device, if done properly it can lift just about any weight. But that's not the only thing that it can do, it's also got a time-freezer inside. Could come in _real_ handy if you got that stupid Zootopia Justice League on your tail. Just imagine it: You think you're cornered with them on each side, you whip this out and what you end up with is a couple frozen superheroes!"

This was followed by a round of laughter from everybody within the room. The four sheep, standing all congregated together, lead themselves out of the dark room of technology and back outside to the main hall. The daylight practically blinded them on the way out as they descended down the spiral staircase once more. Now that she had Gloria on her team, and an interesting array of fun and new contraptions, Bellwether was reassured that everything was going to go according to plan. If all went well, and her first steps of the sabotaging plan went along as dictated, nothing was going to stop her this time around. Bellwether let out a small spell of laughter, the tone of her voice indicating that inside she was full of intentions that were obviously no-good.

"Just wait," Bellwether said, her companions still giving her their full attention. "You'll see that it'll all come to pass. The ZJL will eventually be coming for us, but we'll just make sure that we get a hold on the one member of the team that has the most importance: ZipPaw! Once I get my hooves on her, we'll have her warped and placed under _our_ command. And once that happens, chaos is gonna strike. Imagine it now: A member of the Zootopia Justice League, now finding herself stuck within the grasp of villainy!"

Another spree of laughter erupted from the group, the plans for step one were practically set in stone in this moment.

* * *

 **Author's Note: And... Cut to black! Anyway, hope that you fellow readers enjoyed what I had in store this time around. Once again, I know it's not the best I could've done. But after going through some _crazy_ writer's block, I tried to hopefully build up on what our villains had planned before some of the action starts taking place. I hope you enjoyed this and I'll see you next time!**


	12. We're Coming For Ewe!

An array of thick power cords was laid out in a crumpled mess across the floor of headquarters. Judy had been sitting awfully still in her chair that was placed in the middle of the room, waiting patiently for the results to come through. Bogo was attempting to run a full-body analysis on her to see if there was anything that could easily be spotted, hopefully discovering the cause of her power's glitches in the process. Nick was over in the corner, working around an elaborate control that belonged to another machine that was hooked to the main supercomputer. The digital green bar loaded steadily across the black screen that filled the new program on the monitor. It was ninety percent complete according to what the screen was indicating, which meant they wouldn't have to wait to much longer. In just a few short seconds, they would receive the results of the test they were running. With the help of some of their technology, they could possibly get some useful information regarding Judy's power glitch.

 _Ninety-three percent..._

 _Ninety-five percent..._

 _Ninety-nine percent..._

"Body scan complete," the robotic voice announced. The loaded screen finally blinked to one-hundred percent and quickly reverted to a different screen. A large quantity of information started to load as the monitor rebooted to show the finished analysis. An x-ray image of Judy's body loaded on another screen, with several different icons to show further details. It was like being at the doctor's office, only with a lot more complicated gadgetry involved.

Nick switched the one system off and walked over to Bogo's side to see what information they could get on this matter. Upon clicking a certain icon, an orange flashing bubble appeared on the screen with a beeping sound. Bogo mumbled to himself as he tried to read out loud what could have possibly appeared on the scan. He rested back against he chair and swiveled around to face who they were analyzing. Judy looked with a partially worried look across her face, silently praying on the inside that this would perhaps show them how to fix what was happening. If there were a possible remedy for whatever was causing her glitch to happen, she was going to administer it to herself immediately.

"Alright Judy," Bogo called out. "We just ran our full body analysis."

"And?" Judy quickly responded. She never would've thought that such a short scan would be such a long wait within her mind.

"Just give me a few moments," Bogo replied. "I'm still getting some more information."

With a few seemingly simple clicks, Bogo started to do his work with the program. As he continued on with reading whatever information the analysis had to offer, he silently hoped that they wouldn't run into another error. Scrolling over towards the orange icons that displayed amounts of data within them, Bogo loaded up what appeared to be detections, all of which were considered to be potentially problematic according to the program. The x-ray revised itself and loaded in a different format, this time glowing red across the scanned copy of Judy's body. The only kind of enlightenment that the program offered from the entire scan was that there appeared to be some sort of problem within her teleportation ability. But it didn't take a gigantic supercomputer booted with some of the best and most advanced technology to figure that one out, because Bogo was apparently an eye witness to the situation. As one would have assumed, however, the program did not offer any particular information on how the matter could have been resolved. Bogo became quite upset with what a disappointing analysis it turned out to be. _How can this technology be so smart and so stupid at the same time?_

Right when they were about to give up on using the system for information, the program blinked with another notification. Apparently the computer was having a delay, but it didn't matter because they could see whatever else the analysis had to possibly say.

"Judy," Bogo said, turning around to face her. Judy's ears perked up as she stood from her and came over to the desk. "We might not be able to fully fix whatever's going on with you, but I think we've got something that will help it."

Positivity started to circulate throughout Judy's body once again. It didn't necessarily matter if the problem was fixed _completely,_ as long as there was something that could partially keep it under control. That was all the assurance that she needed, because her mind figured that something was better than nothing right about now. The last thing she needed was it to glitch when they carried out their mission, potentially leading to her getting into trouble. Or worse, being caught by Bellwether herself and completely jeopardizing the mission for the entire Zootopia Justice League. But for now she tried to shake off that dreadful scenario, primarily focusing on the positives and seeing what could be offered onto her.

"So what do you have for me?" Judy asked, her voice now filled with a crazy amount of enthusiasm.

"It's saying here that there's something we can administer on you to help combat this," Bogo replied. "And on a more positive note, we just so happen to have this stuff on us. Never thought that there would be any need for stuff like this, but it's been with our supplies just in case. Now's apparently the time to use it." He turned his head over to face Nick, who was trying to bundling the mess of extension cords. "Nick, go in the supplies and grab that silver case!"

He did as we was instructed and made his way to one of their supply units. Sliding the unit open, he searched the shelves for what Bogo was asking for. An assortment of different gadgets, cases (which contained a various amount of necessities), and other supplies. Nick's eyes dotted to the right of a shelf and finally stumbled across what he was searching for. With a big metallic case in both paws, Nick rushed back over to the desk. Flicking the flaps up and lifting the case opened, he found an array of different tools and liquids in various bottles. It was far from what would be found within the ordinary first aid kit, but after all a team of superheroes needed super equipment at all times.

"What exactly are we looking for in here?" Nick asked, confused at which bottle he was supposed to administer onto Judy.

"The very small one with the thick see-through liquid in it," Bogo replied informatively. "It's a silver label, it's the smallest one in the case."

Nick finally spotted the one that he was looking for and grabbed it. He still had a partial amount of confusion, as he was unsure on how the serum inside actually worked.

"And how exactly does this work?" he asked.

Bogo turned around and walked over to the table located within the middle of their headquarters. "Intravenously, that should be quite obvious given the substance you're using."

"Do I look like a doctor here?" Nick said back.

"Yep," Judy remarked, making joke before Nick started making his over to her aid.

Nick grabbed what appeared to be some sort of needle and attempted to fill it with a fair amount of the serum. As he continued to fill it up, he started to look a little anxious about administering it to Judy. If there was one thing he wasn't comfortable with (in an occupation that has thrown him some very uncomfortable situations), it would be anything involving medical treatments. After all, he didn't want to accidentally give her too much and cause an issue, or administer it improperly. Judy was special to him, and he wouldn't be able to forget it if he was responsible for making her feel worse. He delicately reached out for her paw to make her feel a little bit more comfortable. As he searched for the proper place to insert the needle, his paw started to get shaky.

"I see you're struggling over there," Bogo said, getting up from the desk and heading towards Judy. Nick was trying to hide the fact that he was worried, but the expression that was written across him could not be mistaken. "I'll take care of this, don't want you getting all shaky and making her worse."

"Just be careful with her," Nick warned. He handed the supplies over to Bogo and took a step back. Claws crossed that whatever that liquid in the case was would be enough to combat some of the problems going in with Judy's powers.

* * *

 **Later...**

"I can't believe it!" Judy exclaimed. "I think that stuff actually worked!"

Time had passed since that strange serum was administered to her, and it appeared that her glitch was under control. She was no longer teleporting in that sporadic pattern that would happen when least expected. She attempted teleportation in headquarters one more time just to make sure, and it appeared that there was no longer any complications whatsoever. She was bracing herself to be warped several times after she teleported to the other side of the room, but much to her surprise it didn't happen. The state of pure relief had come over her and brought out a smile from her. It also brought a smile over Nick too, because whenever Judy was upset about something it made him upset as well. That was just how close the two of them were, to a point in which the two of them practically shared similar feelings and emotions at the same time.

"Hallelujah," Nick muttered, watching Judy as she returned to her original self once again.

"I don't think I can thank you enough for whatever that was," Judy said, placing her attention over Bogo.

"Now I'm not _guaranteeing_ anything, Judy," Bogo replied, a delicate amount of warning now within his voice. "It appears that the stuff I just gave is working right now, but I'm not gonna make any promises. This is practically the first time we've used that substance for this purpose, and I'm not sure what it'll do or if the effect of it would wear off."

"Well if it continues to work like this while we take on Bellwether," Judy replied. "Then that's all I need!"

Nick and Judy were now rushing through headquarters, continuing to grab whatever equipment they thought was necessary. Now that there was no need to worry about such a problem with Judy again, Bogo gave the indication that it was now a good time to prepare for going out on their mission. Since finding Bellwether was going to require a little paw-work to get more information, it was proposed that Nick and Judy both head out to the Canal District to scope the scenes.

Adrenaline was coursing through Judy's veins as she went across their headquarters, packing whatever was needed for the mission. A few pieces of standard red luggage were sitting open across the floor as she started placing neatly placing their things inside. Their superhero uniforms sat neatly folded within the top portions of one of the suitcases, ready to be worn whenever the time came. An array of small and travel-sized gadgets were also placed inside, along with some emergency supplies that was Judy's own doing. Even though Nick remarked that they were superheroes and didn't get hurt, she came back and let him that they had _powers_ and _not_ invincibility (bringing up her injured paw during the first issues with Bellwether as an example). He grinned at the precautionary thinking of his super-powered partner. Even under the acknowledgment of dealing with an infamous figure and prison escapee, it never killed her to be prepared as much as she possibly could. While their line of work has thrown some unexpected scenarios at them, it never killed any of them to at least have some preparations for what was potentially waiting for them on the side of whatever villainous mammal was lurking among them.

Judy was now quickly going through headquarters one more time, marking off the checklist inside her mind. Now with her second power of super speed now intact, she began to zoom quicker across the rooms in an even more hurried fashion. Nick's eyes dotted as he tried to follow along her rapid motions. Zooming straight back over to the three red suitcases, she zipped them up tightly and lifted them up.

"Alright, I think it's time we head out," Judy said, making her way towards the exit.

"Not just yet!" Bogo boomed, quickly getting up from his seat and towards another storage area in the left corner of the room. Sifting through what was inside, Bogo filled his hooves with another assortment of different contraptions. All of them being conveniently sized for packing and resembling the shape of ordinary gadgets that were owned by the average mammal.

"What exactly does all of this do?" Judy asked.

"Yeah," Nick said, struggling slightly with the gadgetry. "It looks to me like were just packing more stuff that we'll never use."

"These are _all_ needed as you make your way through the Canal District," Bogo replied. "It's easy to assume that Bellwether has probably gotten craftier since her first strike over Zootopia, so it doesn't hurt to have some supplies to help you fight. Heaven knows whatever she has waiting for you over there."

What was considerably a warning onto them actually made Judy even more excited to take on this mission. With a smile of enthusiasm on her smile and Nick by her side, she was ready to take on whatever was waiting for them. Unzipping the one piece of luggage once more, they started placing the items within the various slots and spaces inside. Nick was just hoping on the inside that it wouldn't seem conspicuous to anyone that they were carrying so many pieces of technology while using public transportation.

"And how exactly do all of these things work?" Nick asked.

"They all have a different ability to them," Bogo replied informatively. "All of which are probably going to be useful for taking down Bellwether."

They were finishing up with the rest of the packing when Nick was starting to look at one of the gadgets with pure curiosity. It was appeared to be a thin and gray chip that was small enough to rest in his paw. Really what it resembled in the tod's mind was a larger version of a memory card that could be found within some kind of digital camera. He looked at it questionably before pondering about it.

"That one will _definitely_ come in handy," Bogo said. "It's actually a stealth chip, and it'll allow you to become invisible from anyone's view. Pretty sure that it would work if you would have to do something lime infiltrating wherever Bellwether's hiding."

"So you're saying this thing'll make me go invisible?" Nick asked excitedly. Judy let out a small chuckle as she saw her fox turn into a kit again in front of her.

Bogo shook his head. "If you feel the need to test it out, go ahead and do so."

"Alright!" Nick exclaimed, his voice now full of enthusiasm that could not be contained. After looking at it for a short amount of time, he figured out how the little gadget possibly worked. Flicking a minuscule switch on the one side of it, Nick turned the system on. A little green dot of light was glowing from within the middle of the stealth chip, indicating that it was now on and fully functional. Unsure of what to do next, he instead tried placing it upon his shirt near one of the chest pockets. Quicker than expected, the stealth chip ended up doing its job. Nick was invisible to both Judy and Bogo! Nick could still see himself, but judging from the look of awe written on Judy's face, he could tell the chip worked like it was supposed to. He took flicked the tiny switched again and pulled the chip from his shirt. Within the quickest amount of time, he ended up fully visible again. All that Nick could do was stand their feeling speechless, staring at the stealth chip that he grasped firmly in his paw.

"That is amazing!" he said.

"Indeed," Bogo replied. "And to think that there never really came a time for it to be used. I'm sure that it'll _really_ come in handy along the way."

Judy was going over headquarters one last time making sure that they were now equipped with everything that they could possibly need. Once she finished scurrying across the rooms, inspecting for anything they might have forgotten, she mentally concluded that everything was packed in preparation and that it was just about time for them to set out on their mission. Just the thought of the word "mission" filled her with even more excitement and anticipation. After all, this was what she and the other members of the Zootopia Justice League lived for. While she always enjoyed having some good times when there was no need for action, protecting the mammalian metropolis that she lived in also made her extremely happy. To know that the innocent citizens could be at peace and not gripped with fear was something that made Judy feel all good on the inside.

Nick checked the time on his watch phone. It was a quarter until the next hour, and that meant that they finished up just in time. If they were correct in their assumptions, The Zootopia Express would be arriving into Savannah Central Station shortly.

"We all ready to go, Carrots?" Nick asked, carrying their luggage that was now fully packed.

"All set!" she replied enthusiastically.

Nick grinned as the two of them carried their luggage, making their towards the exit. Bogo wished them the best of luck as they exited headquarters and proceeded down the entryway they came from. The great door slammed shut behind them, causing a big rumbling sound that echoed down the empty hallway. The two carried themselves over to the elevator (whose doors automatically slid open for them) and made their way inside. They stood silently as they watched the door close behind them, bracing themselves for the quick ascension back to where they originally came from. Within a few short seconds, they ascended back to the secure main hallway. Now that was left to do was reserve the two of them a spot on a trip to the Canal District.

* * *

" _Attention,_ " the speakers above them called out. " _The next train will be departing in approximately five minutes._ "

With that automated and prerecorded announcement, the cue came for both Nick and Judy to find their way onto the train. Getting up from the bench they were both sitting on, they joined in with the menagerie of animals all boarding to get to a similar destination. The two of them found their way through the crowd and reserved themselves a nice spot with the back of their train car. It was the perfect spot in Judy's eyes, as it had just enough room as well as a nice view that was courtesy of the window next to them. Five minutes passed quicker than expected, and within a few short moments the train was departing from the station. They watched as it began its passage, slowly retreating from the starting point and progressively picking up speed. Soon the train found itself leaving the bustling and busy district known as Savannah Central. Judy simply stared outside the window, gazing at the sights of the tall buildings that gradually got smaller in her view as the train went further on its course.

She watched as those sights faded away from view, an indication that they would be passing through another district. She looked over at Nick, who simply looked back at her and smiled. Judy found herself placing her head up against Nick's shoulder as she continued to get a glimpse outside the window. Paws interwined with one another, they both watched as the perspective changed around them. They now found the train passing through the Rainforest District, and it was quite visible giving the precipitation that was now delicately hitting against the glass. The scenery shifted into something even more beautiful, with lush visuals and spacious interior encompassing them as they passed by. Given the circumstances, it felt nice to have a pleasant moment such as this one before taking on the very serious mission. It was quite understandable that this would be the second-most consequential task they ever took on, but it was brief moments like this that made some of the troubles fade to gray.

"There's no need to worry, Carrots," Nick whispered.

Judy looked up at Nick, wondering about what he said. "Huh?"

"You won't need to worry about a thing," he replied. "I'll always be there."

"But I wasn't worried, Nick," she said back.

"I know, but if anything were to happen, you have to know that I would do _anything_ to make sure you make it out okay."

All that Judy could do was simply smile at his comments. It was something she knew quite well (given all of the things that the city has thrown at her), but it still made her happy to hear Nick's reassuring words. "Better watch out, Bellwether," she ended up whispering. "We're coming for you."

* * *

 **Author's Note: Do I know that this is a shorter chapter? Yes, yes I do. But I hope that you guys enjoyed it anyways.**

 **Now that Nick and Judy are heading out into the Canal District, some more actions we'll be coming as soon as I can incorporate into the story.**

 **And I also just want to thank everybody who has been reading this story. As always, let me know your thoughts and I'll see you in the next chapter. Buh-bye!**


	13. The Plan in Action

**Author's Note: Hey y'all! First off, SO sorry for how ridiculously long this update. No excuses except for the atrocity known as writer's block for the delay. Hate it when I get into a writing slump, where no inspiration or drive is in my head. But I'm back anyway, and I've got some more action for our heroes and villains. Hope you guys enjoy it, and be sure to leave a review with your thoughts. Whether good or bad, your thoughts are always appreciated. Anyways, that's enough out of me! Enjoy! :)**

* * *

Nick sat next to his crime-fighting companion in silence, his attention currently fixated on the minuscule screen of his watch phone. Most of the passengers within this train were quiet as could be throughout the passage, the silence occasionally broken by the sound of small chatting or the tapping of someone's phone or computer. Enveloping a paw inside of Judy's, he looked up at the large window in the trains and saw that they were getting closer to their upcoming destination.

After passing through the lush and awe-striking landscapes that only belonged to the Rainforest District, it became quite evident that they were now entering another area. The district's landforms quickly went out of their view, until the lavish rainforest looked like nothing more than a speck of land out in the distance. The train swiftly swayed around the bend, and within a few short moments the two found themselves entering the very first portions of the Canal District. The luminous rays of the sun came through the dampened window as the Zootopia Express steadied its course for the next available station.

They took in the new scenery that encompassed them on all sides, Judy looking around with much enthusiasm. It was indeed beautiful to look at, but they needed to stick to the most consequential reason as to why they were here: Finding out more on Bellwether's whereabouts.

The mission would be a grand one at best, but of course it wouldn't come without its dangerous moments. Those were the specific thoughts that Nick seemed to be pondering on throughout the entirety of their passage to the Canal District. Despite being a mammal with the developed quality of not letting others see that things got to him, his overall look suggested that he was indeed concerned about what awaited them. Nick started thinking that somehow she smartened up from the last escapade, and that maybe something that was even more unpredictable was prepared for their arrival. Sure, he partially wished for some kind of super mission awhile back when he was feeling concerned with the lack of criminal action. But he didn't wish, however, for a mission that was _this_ crazy. A much simpler villain would have sufficed.

But within all of those potentially dangerous scenarios, he felt the greatest amount of concerns for Judy. There was no doubt that they had their powers bestowed onto them, and that those wondrous abilities could be used to their best advantage. But after the previously-experienced glitches within Judy's teleportation power, Nick had been more than perturbed that her superpowers wouldn't be on her side when they were an absolute necessity. It appeared that the mysterious serum administered to her back in headquarters was working fine, knock on wood. The sporadic episodes of uncontrollable teleportation had stopped before they boarded the train, but hopefully it stayed that way.

" _Attention passengers,_ " a voice called out over a small intercom. " _In a few short moments, we will be arriving at the Canal District Station._ "

With that seemingly prerecorded announcement, Nick's thoughts all seemed to dissipate. The two heroes readied themselves to exit the train. A brief moment had passed, and the train brought itself to a halt as it pulled swiftly into the Canal District station. The doors of the Zootopia Express automatically slid open, and the train's fellow passengers made their way out in their most orderly fashion possible. The two got out of their seats, grabbed their packed supplies and casually exited the train. Dodging the menagerie of mammals that appeared to be boarding the next departing train, they stepped outside and found themselves now fully enveloped in the sights of the Canal District. Judy took the liberty of getting a brief look around while Nick carefully examined a map that rested in the very middle of the station. They had been to this district on several occasions, but it was only for leisure or visiting an attraction on those occasions. Despite being to this familiar place several times, however, she just couldn't help herself but take in her surroundings in as if it was her first time visiting. Judy came over to his side to see what exactly it was that he might have found.

Nick traced a claw across the partially illuminated map of the district, pointing at a specific area that he found in the far right corner of the sign. Slouching down slightly, he pressed a button on the watch phone and spoke into it. "Approximately a quarter to three. Judy and I just arrived to the Canal District and will be heading out to investigate the-"

His monologue was interrupted by a tug from Judy. Pressing on the screen again, Nick's watch phone saved his recorded audio as well as a transcript of the words in his notes.

"Who are you talking to, Slick?" Judy asked. "You look like a spy on one of those movies."

"Just trying to keep record of some things, Fluff," Nick replied. "You never know, you might need to keep track of when you spot things."

"Whatever you say there. Now then, where do we start?"

"Well," Nick commented, "before the system failure back at headquarters, the last reported location of Bellwether was somewhere near the docks. So it's probably wise we start off there, maybe scope the scene a little bit."

"In that case, it's off to the docks."

* * *

About thirty minutes later, Nick and Judy found themselves getting an examination of the scenery over at The Docks. Despite it being around three o'clock (the time in which most of the boat tours and tourist traps closed for the day), the amount of mammals present never really decreased. Most of the various mammals could be spotted walking and out of the shops, or waiting patiently in well-sized lines trying to secure themselves a spot on the last available boat tours for the afternoon.

Nick and Judy had been scanning and inspecting the center of the area for quite some time (as it was the place that had the most attention drawn towards it), trying quite hard to blend in with the crowd of tourists and not cause any unnecessary suspicion. Even though she was a mammal whose heart was filled to bursting with determination, Judy felt as if there was nothing seriously suspecting to point out. But the monitors back at headquarters indicated this as the last identifiable point, so there was no doubt in her head that Bellwether and her sheep entourage were in this area.

"I'm not seeing' anything, Nick," Judy finally said. "I don't think there's any clue we can really retrieve from here."

"Yeah," Nick replied, "but if we see anything that seems suspicious, we can use that to our advantage. They spotted her at that hotel, right? Well how could she have gotten in stealthily before getting discovered? There had to be some kind of disguise used or something."

"So you're saying that she could be lurking as someone else?"

"Exactly, Carrots. Think about it for a minute. Any of these mammals walkin' around could _easily_ be Bellwether. And if not, there could be someone here that has some kind of communication with her. Come on, let's check out this side."

Judy followed Nick's lead as they casually made their way over to very end of The Docks, being welcomed by absolute no one present except for the few occasional mammals walking to and fro. Nothing extraordinary or worth pointing out to the crowds was here, the area was practically serene.

As he unintentionally cocked his head to the right, Nick caught sight of something that possibly held some significance to him. A dull and simplistic boat tour vendor entitled _Floats Your Boat_ stood completely idle without anyone going near it. The mammal running the little white booth sat there in boredom, quietly whistling. Nick waved politely, but the owner of the booth didn't seem like he cared to respond. The abrupt sound of a ringtone resonated, startling the mammal entirely. Jumping out of his seat like it was part of a drill, he quickly flicked a "Closed" sign around and tried to get his one boat into the water as casually as he possibly could. Nick looked at the strange actions that unfolded before him, unsure of how he was supposed to take that.

 _Who was that guy? Why did he look so shocked for? And why did he close up shop and just storm off like that? No, Nick. You're making assumptions too quickly! That guy's just another one of these tours that go out every single day. Or… Perhaps that guy's posing as a boat vendor, deceiving them with an innocent appearance while secretly having some sort of tie to Bellwether's operations. And if I'm right, then you're out of luck, buddy._

Catching up with Judy who was a few paces ahead of him, he made a quick note and inserted it into one of the folders of information in his watch phone. "Floats Your Boat. Vendor is a possible suspect."

* * *

 **Meanwhile…**

The four sheep stayed huddled within the brightly-illuminated space of the gadget-filled room. Gloria was in her assumed position, taking charge of the multiple computer monitors. Doug and Jesse were in a state of boredom, awaiting the eventual details that Gloria would unveil regarding the next steps of their vengeful operation.

A monitor pinged quietly, a message popping up along with it: _On my way!_

"Excellent," Gloria mouthed out loud, rubbing her hooves together. _"_ The boat'll be here momentarily. Now when that comes, we proceed with one of our first steps in the new plan. But first, I've got a question for you two." She directed her attention towards Doug and Jesse. "Does the name Skye Electrics ring a bell? Sound familiar to you?"

The two sheep being questioned simply nodded their heads in reply. Of course they knew what she was pertain to. The name "Skye Electrics" was practically a household name for anyone that resided in the districts of Zootopia, considering that the company supplied most of the metropolis with its power and electric needs.

"Yeah, what about it?" Doug questioned.

"Well," Gloria carried on, "I've got news for you."

From their, the black sheep got off of her swivel chair and started to filling a bag with some of the technological tools that were conveniently stocked on her shelves. Returning over to the computer desk, she ejected a microchip that minuscule in size and inserted it onto the back of one of the pendants.

"Skye Electric better watch our backs," Gloria remarked proudly. "And you know why? Because we're gonna have a little fun with their systems!"

Doug and Jesse looked at each other confused, unsure of what that even meant. "Say again?" they said.

Gloria rolled her eyes as she fumbled for the other two pendants sitting on the desk. "We're heading out to Skye Electrics. Their main headquarters is nearby, so their a quick and easy target. The city entrusts them with practically everything, so a city without them is literally powerless."

Dawn emerged from her seat, letting out a laugh that had a sinister feel to it. Her spree of giggling was interrupted yet again by Jesse's inability to fully comprehend the current stage of their plans.

"Quick question!" Jesse said. "What's the electricity thing gotta do with the Zootopia Justice League anyhow?"

"Consider this a little diversion," Dawn replied. "The city will more than likely be in panic when a blackout happens, so as that's happening we come in and take the ZJL's most valuable asset."

Doug laughed delightedly. "So we're gonna blackout the whole city, _and_ capture ZipPaw?"

"You got that right!" Dawn remarked. She turned around to face Gloria. "Now then, where was I? Oh yeah. Gloria, do you have the new and improved pendant."

"Sure do," the black sheep replied with pride. "This time I plugged in a couple new features. I did a quick background check on it and attempted to ensure that it doesn't glitch out like last time. And also, you know how ya said that you couldn't change the tone of your voice? Well now the pendant with some easily-programmable software, so I can control what your voice sounds like to make a better disguise. Just watch…"

Gloria grabbed her phone that was nearby, opening an application on it and tapping a few different icons. On her screen was a series of knob-looking icons, which she could slide up and down to alter what the pitch and tone of her voice would sound like once she started speaking. As Bellwether placed pendant around he neck, Gloria got the new chip inside of it started up. "Go ahead and say something."

"Uh, hello?" Dawn said, shocked once she realized what her voice changed to once the words came out of her mouth. Her voice had undergone a complete transformation, sounding as if it had a sort of British accent to it. "Oh my gosh, that's weird. That's gonna take some getting used to."

Gloria shut down the connection of the voice chip inside the pendant. "What do ya think of that? Pretty cool, am I right? Now I only have one template of this chip programmed, and it's gonna take me some time to make two more versions of it. So you're gonna where the one with the voice changer, Dawn, and Doug and Jesse are gonna just rely on the disguises like ya did before."

A buzz sounded from one of Gloria's monitors, which loaded up the outside security camera that displayed the boat from the "vendor" pulling onto the dock. "Wow, he's makin' pretty good time! Come on guys, get your pendants on."

Dawn, Doug and Jesse did as commanded and placed their pendants around their necks. Contemplating the forms that they took awhile ago, the shifted into their disguises and followed Gloria as she made her way outside. As the four villainous sheep stepped out to dock of the estate, they entered the boat as its captain got the engine revved up again.

"Ready or not," Dawn observed, "here we come!"


	14. Operation Skye Electrics

_Silence…_

That was the considerable thing that filled the vacuum of space within ZJL Headquarters: _Silence._

Bogo, a hoof placed slightly upon the touchy fixtures of the supercomputer's control panel, performed another quick location scan to pinpoint where Nick and Judy currently were. The buffalo had received notification that the two of them made to the Canal District safely, but needed to figure out further what their next move was against Bellwether. Until they figured out something that would give them any more potential whereabouts, it would end up being a case in which there was no complete sense of preparation. And that was the worst thing that the Zootopia Justice League had hovering around them: The potential element of surprise.

Refreshing the systems one more time, Bogo reclined back and took a gander around the empty yet luminous space the headquarters had to offer. It almost seemed too quiet around here, with the less than frequent beep or tone coming from one of the three monitors.

 _No need to get any more tense,_ the buffalo tried to tell himself. _We busted this sheep once, and we can surely do it a second time. Those two are great at their work, always full of determination. We're the ZJL, and can do this… At least, I hope we can._

A sudden alert rung through the walls of headquarters, startling Bogo's thoughts. _What could this be?_ He went over and brought up the available information. To his surprise, the location scanners _actually_ picked up a trace of Bellwether. What didn't make sense to him prior to this was where she could've went that caused glitch in the signal. But that didn't matter right now, all that _did_ matter was figuring where Bellwether was running off to and alerting Nick and Judy about it.

Bogo reloaded the systems, attempting once more to unveil where the villainous sheep started trekking to. From what the line tracing the movements could configure, Bellwether appeared to have taken some sort of shortcut. This unorthodox path she had taken took her through most of the bustling downtown area, allowing her to get to the end of the city life without drawing too much attention. The line eventually stopped near the top corner of the map. Pressing on another icon, Bogo revealed that Bellwether was in fact near a certain place.

He recognized almost immediately where she was at: The headquarters of none other than Skye Electrics. It was a tad strange to him why she would be striking there, but now was not the time to ponder around the reasons why things were happening as they were. Dashing to another panel, Bogo dialed up for Nick as quick as he possibly could. The delay in between the dialing and answering only lasted about ten seconds, and yet it felt as if it was taking forever for Nick to finally respond…

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile, Downtown in the Canal District…_**

After making their way up from all of their investigating and back into the town, Judy advised taking a quick break. Of course there was no such thing as taking a complete break being in the field of work they were in, but a easy five minutes seemed fair enough to the two of them. Nick had been frustrated about not receiving any valuable information, and it didn't take too much thinking to decipher that. One glance at the disquieted look written across face and she could tell that he wasn't feeling like himself.

Judy gazed up at him, enveloping and interlocking a small paw into his. "Hey, it's alright. We got this. Taking on Bellwether's not gonna be a two-minute job."

"It's just confusing, you know?" Nick replied. "All I got outta the Docks was a potential suspect that might be involved in all of this, but that's where the discoveries end. How are we gonna find out where she is if we don't even got a clue?"

"The information will come in time," she said optimistically.

"Carrots, I'mma need ya to pull out that picture collection again. I need something cheerful right about now."

"Alright, Slick."

With that, Judy grabbed her iPaw and loaded up her collection of pictures. Ever since she showed Nick the memories she kept in picture form, that recently became something that the two of them did less than frequently. On the train they took on their way over to the Canal District, Nick consulted it twice to slightly ease his bubbling concerns. Judy found a photo in the middle of the collection, one that made her smile whenever she looked at it. A selfie appeared on the screen, depicting the two of them with silly facial expressions. If she was right in her remembrance, Judy recalled taking that after the busting of a large spree of criminal activity a few months after Bellwether's first arrest.

Nick couldn't help but laugh at that picture. "You know just the thing to always cheer me up. Don't ya, Fluff?"

Judy let out a small chuckle. "Now then, let's see what others I-"

As if it it heard that they were previously discussing information on their target, Nick's watch phone started to ring. An incoming call from Bogo back at headquarters.

"Hallelujah," Nick murmured. He accepted the call and was greeted with the buffalo's booming voice.

"We got new intel, you two," Bogo said informatively. "It would appear as if Bellwether managed to make her way over to a building on the far side of town. No idea what she wants with Skye Electrics, but it's probably for the best if you two try your best to get there and find out something. You guys got all of the tools you need, use 'em and get some info."

"On it, Bogo," Nick said as he disconnected the call.

"Well, you heard 'em," Judy said enthusiastically. "Let's get to it!"

* * *

 ** _Moments Later…_**

The main facility to Skye Electrics stood within the outermost parts of the Canal District's city life, a tall monolith of concrete and glass windows against the clouds. Housing more than three-quarters of Zootopia with the proper electricity it needs, the company proudly ensured that it would efficiently power the metropolis and be quick to restore anything that ever went wrong in the quickest time possible. The trust of the multitude of mammals was placed in the paws of those who ran Skye Electrics, no matter how big or small of a role they played in the company's overall functionality. But most importantly, an intelligent arctic fox named Skye and her family had the greatest amount of thanks to be given for the technological advances she gave the company over its many years. Skye Electrics seemed like a place that would stand strong regardless of how much pressure was placed upon it, branded unbreakable and undeniably powerful.

 _That is, until now…_

"Alright, pendants ready?" Gloria asked, which was answered by the nods coming from the three accompanist sheep.

"You sure they're gonna be alright?" Doug asked, pointing to two objects in the far corner behind the great building.

What he was directing his attention towards was the figures that belonged to two mammals, one a wolf and the other being another canine that was presumably a coyote. The two canids laid abroad behind the building. A tranquilizing dart in each of them (courtesy of one of the various tools that Gloria had conveniently stashed away in her bag of gadgetry), knocking them out cold. Cloaked in business outfits with the name "Skye Electrics" embroidered upon them, there was no need to contemplate any further that the wolf and coyote belonged to the company that was about to receive its sabotage.

"You don't gotta worry about them," Gloria replied, "It was just a tranquilizer, so they'll be fully awake again in a few short moments."

"Besides," Dawn chimed in, "this is sabotage. What do we care about them?"

"Now then," Gloria continued, "they'll probably regain full awareness in a short amount of time, since the formula within those darts only has so much potency. So we need to stick to the plan and keep this in good timing. Dawn, you'll create the distraction with Doug and Jesse. And _I'll_ get my way through the systems. Got it everyone?"

Everyone gestured that they understood the plan. After that, Dawn, Doug and Jesse all switched their pendants and started to focus on the new forms they be taking on. Bellwether would be taking on the form of Skye, the arctic fox in charge of the entire operation, while her minions took the form of the the two canids.

 _Warp!_

The shape-shift that occurred between the three of them happened as quick as usual. All three of them slightly in shock from the transformation, trying to get themselves accustomed to their new heights and features.

Bellwether looked at herself in the form of Skye, unable to get over the feeling of being this tall. She looked at the paws of her vulpine disguise, moving them around in surprise at how they felt so different to her. Cocking her head to the side, she could see that both of her minions were also getting used to the new shape as well. From the sound of it, Jesse, who had taken the form of the wolf, thought that this was such an awesome thing to be doing.

"Would ya look at this?" he said in delight, stretching as he took a gander at the new canine form. "You know the old sayings? Well mine's backwards, 'cause I'm a _sheep_ in _wolf's_ clothing!"

While Jesse found the literal reversal of the adage to be quite amusing, everyone else didn't quite find it as interesting at the current time.

"Oh, and one more thing," Gloria chimed, looking down at her phone. Turning some of the icons of her phone, she reprogrammed Dawn's voice equalizer to have the British accent that belonged to the arctic fox she was representing.

"All good?" Dawn asked, answering her own question once she realized what sound her voice made when the words resonated. "Gosh, that _still_ takes some time to get used to. Alrighty then, let's do this!"

* * *

Despite seeing it for herself, Dawn could not believe that they all managed to get their way in. They _actually_ got into the main facility of Skye Electrics, one of the most trusted names within Zootopia for giving mammals the necessity of electricity!

 _Don't get ahead of yourself, though,_ a small voice echoed within Bellwether's head. _We might've gotten in, but that don't mean anything just yet. Let Gloria do her magic, and then we can celebrate the first big step._

Dawn observed her surroundings. The interior of the electricity complex was nothing to scream about on a certain level, the walls within a plain white color that encompassed the many desks that surrounded the area. The sounds that resonated were practically the definition of the word "productivity," the audible tapping of the computers and voices of service representatives filling the space. While this was what she assumed most of the place would look like, she knew on a technological level there was much more to it. After all, they were only in one of the many levels that made up this facility.

Both Doug and Jesse, stuck in the forms of two canine company representatives, casually made their way down the rows of work desks. The plan was working accordingly, until another worker ended up giving Jesse a pat on the shoulder.

"Hey," the fellow co-worker told him, his voice sounding sympathetic. "I hear what's goin' on, and just wanna let ya know that I'm here if you need me."

All Jesse did was nod politely and calmly walk away, unsure of what that meant. But quickly remembering that he was in the form of someone else, who more than likely had their own life troubles, he dismissed the little word exchange.

While both Doug and Jesse tried to blend in with the rest of the productive crew, seating themselves at two desks that assuringly belonged to the two absent canids, Dawn made her way over to another room as Gloria tried to stealthily get around some things. Within her assortment of miscellaneous gadgets was a miniature cloaking device, small enough to be clipped onto her clothing and allow her blend in with her surroundings for a period of time. It had been collecting dust on her shelf of technology back at the estate, but this was the perfect opportunity to finally give it some much-needed use.

After sneaking her way around things, trying her hardest to not give herself away, the black sheep finally managed a spot near one of the control panels. Shutting of the pin of the cloaking device, she came back into view as she gazed at the panels deciphering a way to worm her way into it. The room was empty, no mammals really paying that much attention to it.

Gloria's directive was to place one of her software pieces within the systems, and from there attempt to get through back at her estate. She stared at the panel, a mammoth metallic piece of machinery with dots significantly blinking red and green. Once she found somewhere she could break into, she grabbed some her supplies she had stowed in her pockets and got to work.

Dawn observed from a distance, watching Gloria do the work while still trying not to bring too much negative attention. "Got it?" she said, her voice a whisper but still sounding a tad louder for her to hear.

Gloria gave her the reply with a nod, and Dawn continued to watch carefully. However, her observations were startled when the feeling of someone from behind brushed passed her, making her heart skip a beat. _Stay calm,_ she implored to herself. _Just stay calm and go with the flow._

"Skye," a male voice said from behind her. "Didn't think I'd catch you down here on such an ordinary afternoon."

The figure the voice belonged to walked by. The humble yet questioning voice belonged to a moose that now stood in front of her, leaning slightly against the outer edge of a nearby cubicle.

"So," the moose continued, "what brings you down here on such short notice?"

 _Oh dear! Didn't know that they'd be on my tail this fast. What am I suppose to say?_

Bellwether found herself in a panic, but quickly interrupted her worries and attempted to answer the moose's question as casually as possible. "Well, uh… The systems needed some maintenance checks, so I took the liberty of coming down myself."

She quickly glanced over to Gloria and gestured for her to hurry up. The moose raised a brow in curiosity as Dawn went back to her fake innocent look. "Well," he said, "can't argue with that. Just strange of you to do it today, considering the system's were _just_ worked on about-"

"That's not what's important right now, sir. What _is_ important is that I check on the-"

"Say what's that pendant around your neck? Never seen ya where that one before."

 _He's starting to suspect something,_ Dawn thought anxiously. _C'mon, think of something quick!_

"Uh, this one's a gift. Yeah, a friend got me this one awhile ago but thought I'd where it know. You know?"

"Hmm," the moose replied. "I'll admit it looks nice, just never seen one that looked like that before."

 _Whew! At least he's not suspecting as much. Just praying that whatever Gloria's doing back there doesn't take too much longer._

Both the moose and sheep in disguise carried on with what luckily wasn't too much conversation, Bellwether trying her darnedest to not come off any more suspecting than she probably already was. If anything, her overall look started resembling that of a mischievous kit trying to hide something they've done. Luckily for her, Dawn was capable of improvising with the answers to what ever the chatty mammal wanted to shoot the breeze about. In the corner of her eye, she could see Gloria giving the sign that the deed was done. _Thank heaven it's in! Now the only thing's left to do are capture ZipPaw and tap into this place's systems…_

Everything seemed to be going according to plan, Gloria cloaked herself once more and started sneakily stepping away from the big black control panels. However, to her great misfortune, Dawn started to feel something. The sensation that was occurring was something she only wished she was imagining. The feeling was none other than the pendant malfunctioning. _No, not here! Not where everybody can see it's me!_

She tried to keep a calm expression, internally awaiting the tragedy of revealing her true form right in the middle of Skye Electrics. However, as if it was a partial miracle, she didn't feel the warping sensation that came along with the shifting ability granted by the pendant. The turquoise button in the middle of the necklace blinked twice (though the moose didn't see it happen to bring attention towards it), and after that Dawn felt something happen. Although she was still in the form of an arctic fox and not a sheep, she felt something that was off from behind her. The long vulpine tail that was part of her disguise had disappeared, glitching out to replace it with the short ovine tail that belonged to her true form. Acting upon instinct, Bellwether quickly placed an arm behind her in an attempt to cover up what just happened.

The moose didn't recognize anything happening (as he in front of her and not behind), but just started to question Dawn when he saw her acting strange. "Is something the matter, ma'am?"

"No!" Bellwether boomed, startling the questioning moose on how abrupt her voice was."

Meanwhile, Gloria was stealthily managing her way out of a hard spot, trying not to be completely spotted by blending in with the fellow workers. As she carefully made her way over to the exit, the black sheep felt a sense of total accomplishment. A sensation of pride rushing over her, yet mostly staying on the inside due to her being in an environment where she couldn't fully celebrate.

However, before Gloria could even place a hoof upon the next available door, the inevitable started to occur. The turquoise button started flickering in a rapid matter before letting out a faint beep. The small but audible sound reached Bellwether's ears, resonated inside of her as if it were the very sounds that filled a bad dream.

All Gloria could do in that moment was sag her head and be prepared for them to make an expeditious retreat. She was _certain_ that the new and improved pendants wouldn't run into any issues, but ended up being proven wrong with the misfortunate event taking place.

Dawn simply let out a small nervous laugh, the moose worker looking at her in a confused manner.

 _Warp!_

Not even two seconds after that episode, the pendant acted up in an even more vigorous manner than it did at the hotel previously. Bellwether sporadically flickered in and out of several different forms: Otter, raccoon, back to arctic fox and back to her true self once again. The light on the pendant faintly flickered once more, as if it was dying and that the light was its final goodbye before completely shorting out. The moose's jaw practically dropped, completely shocked at what he just saw. On top of seeing a mammal shift forms before his very eyes, he had been completely fooled. It wasn't Skye he was making conversation with, it was the notorious Dawn Bellwether!

Dawn now found herself in more than just a rock in a hard place. The concept of disguising herself completely failed on her a second time, and once again she revealed her infamous face before she could even get the vengeful gears of her plans turning.

"Oh dear," she muttered, the British accent still enact despite the rest of her pendant glitching out.

From there, the next series of events continuously spiraled downward. Too bad her pendant had completely given out on her, because _now_ was the perfect time for her to use that defense mechanism that Gloria installed inside of it.

The sound of a security alert commenced around them, and in that instance there was only one thing that Bellwether could think of doing now. It was an extremely simple and almost primal instinct, but her best move at the time was easily summed within one simple little word.

"Run!"

* * *

 **Author's Note: And... Cliffhanger! I'm apologizing ahead of time to anyone who's probably sad about that. So what did you think of that? Let me know what you thought, and next time we'll see some more action with our heroes and our mischievous villain group. The next chapter will be done hopefully sooner than later. Thanks for reading!**


	15. An Escape and An Encounter

Every other thought that was originally coursing through Bellwether's mind was gone. The only thing building up in her focus was getting her way out of this disastrous escapade. Just when everything was going so smoothly and according to plan, things had to take a ridiculously unnecessary turn for the worse. _Should've known this was going too well,_ she thought.

"Security," a voice ran out, "get the sheep!"

The buzzing noises coming from security warnings echoed around the compound, a drive for the panicked sheep to pick up her running pace. As fast as her hooves could possibly carry her, she dashed across the labyrinth that was the compound. The pendant on her neck, broken and glitching beyond control, beeped the tone that she knew quite well sounded whenever the shape changer was activated.

 _Warp!_

She simply tried to ignore it and continue her running, the gadget worn around her starting to unpredictably malfunction. As the pendant glitched, Bellwether sporadically flickered in and out of the arctic fox disguise as she continued to scurry along. The thin sound of a failing machine rung slightly in Dawn's ears, and taking a quick look down she realized the gadget completely seized in function. A tiny spark came from the pendant, as if it were a confirmation that the one task of it was no longer capable of being used.

Letting out a grunt, Dawn took a quick glance back at what was behind her, slightly wishing she didn't after seeing a trio of large mammals were following her. She dodged the oncoming obstacles that was the security by making abrupt turn, causing two of the guards to stumble clumsily before continuing on with their pursuit. Thanks to that little change in events, Bellwether now earned herself a few seconds of extra running time on getting out of this trap referred to as Skye Electrics.

She gestured for Doug and Jesse to get up as she continued to sprint onward, and the minions did as they were told. The two of them clicked their pendants off, causing them both to return back to their original ovine forms. At this point, it became a tad pointless to stay disguised when the mission was already jeopardized. Gloria joined in with the three, and the villainous squad was now completely together as they made their retreat. Unsure of how these four sheep somehow got into the building, workers simply observed the situation nervously from what view had from their designated cubicles. Several of the mammals that watched the event unfold, their voices all ringing out in a confused manner:

"Was that _seriously_ Bellwether?"

"Ain't that the sheep who just escaped prison?"

"How did she get her way in?"

"And who are those other sheep following her?"

The guards pulled themselves together, finally getting back up on their paws to pursue the intruders in mind. The four sheep sharply made another turn to the left, making their way over to what appeared to be a main hallway. A blank space stood in front of them, a dark carpeting being the only touch that made up the perimeter. On the right of them were two elevators, both of which locked down and incapable of being called up or down due to the recent security alert being issued. The group of sheep stopped, slightly panicked and unsure of where they could head to next without causing anymore issues.

"Where's the exit?" she exclaimed, thinking to herself out loud.

Thinking light on her hooves, Bellwether darted her eyes left and right. Finally spotting a doorway near them that lead to a set of stairs, she lead the team over to it. Normally the doorway was used as an emergency exit, but technically Dawn could consider the dilemma unfolding in front of her to be an emergency.

"Come on, guys!" she compelled, her voice now strangely somewhere in between her disguise's British accent and her actual tone thanks to the malfunctioning voice equalizer.

She lead them through the tall white door, thankful that it was opened by a thin crack. The walls surrounding them became a little bit tighter, the stairs that made up the enclosed area being a tad bit more of a step down that a typical staircase.

The sound of the security systems muffled slightly by the thick concrete walls. Her heart feeling as if it would beat straight out of her chest, Bellwether started to rush down the stairs. The front of her hooves barely touching the concrete steps, she continued to dart downwards like an athlete on a track field. Gloria pressed onward about three steps behind her, Doug and Jesse hurried but lagging a little bit behind.

Bellwether and her villainous companions managed to briskly run their way down two flights of stairs, but it was still not the proper time to say they were home free.

"They went down here!" a deep voice bellowed.

The sounds of the security guards making their way down reverberated above them, causing the sheep to pick up their pace even faster than they were already going. Doug and Jesse tried their best to keep up with their boss, breathing steadily at all of the unexpected physical exertion.

Dawn quickly glanced down to the floor, looking at how much further they needed to go. Lucky for her and her companions, they would be approaching the ground floor in a few short moments. In the faint corner of her eye, she saw that her pendant seemed to be acting up again as fate would have it. The gadget around her neck, now rendered to a state of being uncontrollable and completely useless, flickered with a dim strobe of blue light. _No! I thought this was already broken. What in the heck is it doing now?_

The thought of the pendant malfunctioning again angered her, but she dismissed some of the frustration. _We already got ourselves in this much of a problem, so what's the big deal that this thing acts up again? I'm pretty much screwed in the situation we're in anyhow!_

Another flight of stairs down, but the stupid security guards were gaining up on her faster than she expected them to.

"Oh no," Dawn gasped upon making that realization.

The pendant's glow of blue light flickered even quicker, so fast that she was certain that there was not even a millisecond in between each blink. She placed her hoof over it, as if doing so was going to magically make something change with its glitching functionality. She saw a lapis glow of energy coming from the small hole on the gadget.

Lifting her hoof off it the quickly, Dawn observed the self-defense mechanism built within the pendant activate. In a weird and crazy way, she saw that little happening as some sort of miraculous occurrence. She cocked her head back in shock, swiftly observing a beam of energy shooting out from where her pendant rested upon her neck.

The beam bounced off the close walls, darting off at an available free space and knocking one of the security guards directly in the face. The abrupt sensation that hit the guard practically knocked him down. Clutching a paw over his left eye, the guard grunted and gestured for the others to continue onward. Bellwether watched, feeling partially pleased by that happening. It surprised her a little bit that somehow that tiny burst of energy took down that big mammal. _Then again,_ she reminded herself, _there's been a lot of surprising things that've happened over these last crazy hours!_

The four sheep finally managed their way to the ground floor. Running through the path, they now found themselves in the main entrance to the facility. The walls were no longer claustrophobically small, and the atmosphere a lot more openly spaced. Rays from the bits of sunshine glowed through the glass doors, luminously illuminating the dark gray tile floors.

Sprinting like runners in a marathon, the four sheep raced to an available corner. Other than the security guards bothering them, not that many mammals seemed to give full acknowledgment to the ongoing situation on the ground floor. Gloria took lead on making it to the corner where they could hide, getting to the ground and slickly sliding across the floors.

"Come on!" the black sheep exclaimed, gesturing for the others to do the same.

The three did as they were told. They could see in the corner of their vision the two guards further away but sill gaining up on them. Gloria fumbled frustratedly on the cloaking device she wore upon her clothing, finally sighing with delight when she got it on.

"Quickly!" she said to the others. "Hold on to me!"

Dawn, Doug and Jesse held onto to Gloria's hoof, questioning if that device she had clipped upon her _actually_ was working as it should. _Are we seriously invisible to security?_

One of the guards came to where they were hidden, circling the perimeter near the front doors confused. The look of the two that were following them, appearing as if they were lost at this point, gave enough of an impression that Gloria's little cloaking device was a success.

"Reporting from the ground floor, the sheep is gone," a guard said into his walkie talkie. "I repeat, the sheep is nowhere to be seen."

His report was answered with a beep and a static voice that sounded through. "Acknowledged. Continue one last search across the perimeters, she couldn't have gotten too far."

The guards finally left them all alone, and with that Bellwether silently let out a small sigh of relief. Half happy and half angered, she turned her head to the technology expert sitting on her right.

"Gloria," Dawn said, keeping her voice at an extreme minimal to avoid giving the illusion away. "I don't know what in the world just happened, or why the pendant went all nuts, but I'm glad this is almost over."

"Almost?" Doug whispered as he chimed in. "We're stuck in a tight spot."

"Yeah," Jesse added, "how we gonna get outta 'ere now? We're-"

"Guys," Gloria interrupted. "I got an idea. If we're extremely careful we can make ourselves over to the back of the building. Okay?"

* * *

A few minutes later, they got themselves ready to make their way out of the facility once and for all. After waiting for a wolf to walk passed the hallway, they ensured the designated path was clear and commenced their next escape route.

"Okay," Gloria said, "listen carefully. You guys are gonna hold onto each other's hooves like we are right now, and we're gonna crawl our way past that desk over there and around to the back. Got it?"

Doug and Jesse nodded attentively. With that, the four sheep held onto each other and started to crawl across the tiles of the ground floor area. Being under the illusion of invisibility, they remained extremely precautious of their surroundings. If they had even so much as one extra mishap that gave away their hiding, then their criminal doings would be over faster than they expected. Trying to be as quiet as a mouse, Gloria and the team made their way carefully to the middle of the hallway. Concluding that no one was coming near them, they picked up their pace and tried to get around the main desk. All was going as it should be.

The sudden thump of a hoof to the desk startled them, and Jesse (who was undoubtedly the cause of that potential disruption) looked down in guilt. The ocelot who worked the main desk could be heard getting out of his chair and walking out. Dawn, crouched down in the crawling position, could see the paws of the worker come their way. _What else is new? Another plan of ours soiled, and this time it's thanks to Jesse._

The ocelot dotted his head left and right confused, not taking more steps closer. Without getting anymore suspicious, he simply shrugged his shoulders and returned to his computer over on the other side of the desk. It was another miraculous occurrence to Bellwether that he didn't get any closer, or step on where they were invisible and give away their plans.

"Come on," Bellwether whispered. "Quickly, you guys."

As fast and silent as they probably ever could be, the four managed to stealthily work around the obstacles and get to the very back of the facility. Nothing was really there worth talking about, except for some offices and other miscellaneous doors that lead to rooms where different computer systems were left unmonitored. From the far left corner, Dawn spotted a place in which they could squirm themselves out of. It appeared to be some sort of window, luckily large enough for them to at least get themselves through with a little teamwork. Looking and acknowledging that the coast was clear, Bellwether gestured for them to move forward. _Finally,_ she thought. _We're gonna get the heck out of this trap!_

* * *

"Come on, pull him a little bit harder." Dawn said.

She, Doug and Gloria had managed to sneak their way through an opening in the back. Jesse, on the other hand, was having some complications getting through. Being a bit larger around than the rest of them, he required some much-needed assistance to squeeze through the opening.

As Jesse grunted, Dawn and the others managed pulling him out. The sheep in questioning taking a little bit of a fall on the way out, unlike the others who had escaped a lot more swiftly, Brushing some of the dust off of his wool, Jesse stood upright. The four sheep walked along the area set out before them. Now they found themselves in a place that resembled something opposite of the bustling city life. Close to the left of them was the outlines of another tall building that stood not too far from Skye Electrics. From what details and assumptions she could make, Dawn got the impression that they were in the back of the city life. If she was right in some of her assumptions, no one would be going around these corners for any logical reason.

"Whew!" Dawn said. "That was somethin' in there, luckily we won't have to do anywhere there again."

"You got that right," Gloria added, starting to walk forward with the rest of the them. "Now the next two things on our agenda are getting ZipPaw and tapping into this building's systems. I got that program installed in one of their booting systems, so I can probably get my way into their software without any problems."

With that topic being brought up, Bellwether started to contemplate how they were going to manage getting back to Gloria's estate, considering one of the only three pendants that Gloria created was already broken beyond a simple repair job. But right now the thought of that could wait just a few more seconds, as they were trying to just get situated in the place they were in now.

"Yeah," she simply replied. They proceeded to walk upon the slightly cracked paths behind the buildings as she continued. "Now if we're lucky, we won't have any further interruptions."

"I'm afraid your luck just ran out, Bellwether!" A familiar voice rang out.

The sound of that voice echoed in Bellwether's head, her face looking as if she was completely shocked. Slowly turning head head to the direction the sound came from, the figure of a gray doe coalesced from behind something laying upon the ground. Shortly after that, the taller figure of a fox followed behind the rabbit. Dawn's mouth hung wide open. _ZipPaw!_

The four sheep observed the fox and rabbit in front of them. The two heroes filled with determination, their stance ready to engage in combat with the villains that stood before them.

"Well, speak of the devil," Dawn said mockingly. "If it ain't ZipPaw and that stupid fox. Say where's the rest of your dumb ZJL right now?"

Judy angrily grunted, ready to handle the dastardly sheep that was right in front of her. A russet paw from her crime-fighting companion stopped her from fully fighting before it was completely necessary.

Gloria, her expression collected but pumping with enthusiasm, reached into her pockets and grabbed another small item she had along with her. In her hoof was a small white cylinder object with a black dot in the middle of it.

"Dawn's told me a lot about you," Gloria chimed. "Rumor has it you and your league are pretty strong. But unfortunately for you, you're outnumbered. And besides, we also got this here gadget that you don't!"

Gloria played with the cylinder thing she had in her grasp.

All that Nick could do was simply guffaw at whatever it was she had with her. "Ha, and how's _that_ thing gonna help you-"

Nick was interrupted when he ended being proven wrong by the sheep. As soon as Gloria pressed the tiny black button on what she was holding, the object started to grow in size. Within a quick instance, the gadget grew larger to a point where she needed to grasp it firmly in both hooves. The gadget now appeared to be more of a powerful weapon that it originally seemed, and Nick simply gulped hard at it.

"Now then, what were you saying?" Gloria mocked.

The sheep fully activated the machine, the front of the gun-looking object aimed directly at Nick's body. Once Gloria pressed one of the various buttons on the gadget's full-sized control panel, kinetic energy started to shoot out of the machine's front. Nick found himself slowly being picked off of the ground, Gloria in front of him slightly struggling to lift him up. Nick to fight his way out of whatever manipulative force was overcoming him, but soon felt completely incapable. With one quick flick of the gadget, the fox hero was blown off of his paws and into the air. Nick took a rough landing as he hit the cold and hard ground. Gloria giggled as the fox tried to get back up, making Judy feel a little more irritable at the sheep's villainous shenanigans.

"You see, Judy," Bellwether announced, "we've gotten bette since the last time you took us on. Our technology has you outsmarted this time, ZipPaw!"

"You won't get away this time, Bellwether!" Judy snapped. "When we get you, the only time you'll be thinking about technology is in-"

Suddenly, a different jolt of energy exited the machine and circumnavigated around Judy's figure. The bunny could no longer finish what she was saying, as she appeared to be completely frozen in mid-sentence. Doug and Jesse got giddy at the sight of ZipPaw rendered incapable of taunting them. Gloria started to play around with some of the other buttons. _Let's see what else we can do here!_

Nick was completely in shock, his eyes full of worry as to what they were doing. Gloria ended up turning off the energy field around the rabbit.

"The only time you'll be thinking about- Wait, it feels like I just-"

Bellwether laughed sinisterly at Judy's confusion, a drive for Nick to get his game on and take down the villain in front of them. Within the very corner the heroes and villains stood within, it became quite clear to both sides of this encounter that each of them wouldn't go down easily.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Whew, now we're getting into some of the action! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and as always let me know what you thought. Action scenes are practically my** **kryptonite, so hopefully I didn't do too bad on some of these parts of the chapter. See you next time!**


	16. We've Got Ewe Now!

The scanner lit green and a beep sounded, a confirmation that access to this perimeter leading to headquarters had been granted. Entering the elevator as soon as it opened its doors, the gazelle speedily made her way down. The doors closed and the elevator dropped in the rapid and almost unexpected fashion that it typically did. The gazelle simply leaned back against the walls, a hoof gripping around a silver handle that was conveniently beside her as she waited for her arrival at the next destination.

A clanging sound arose in the air and echoed as the elevator hit the ground, opening its doors up to the entryway to ZJL headquarters. Running as swiftly as her hooves could carry her, the gazelle darted through the darkened hallways to the large steel doors. Getting closer to where she needed to be, she simply used her power of elasticity to stretch her way towards the door at a faster rate. The security system built within the door, much to her surprise, was under a sort of temporary deactivation (more than likely because Bogo was patiently awaiting her arrival from the inside).

Stepping inside, the gazelle took a seat in one of the vacant chairs, catching her breath from the rush of running over to headquarters on such a short notice. Bogo, whose eyes were originally fixated on one of the different programs built within the supercomputer, swiveled his chair over to receive the attention of who had just arrived.

"Elasti-zelle," the buffalo greeted, "Glad that you could make it here on such short notice."

* * *

 **Meanwhile...**

Both the heroes and villains stood still, good and evil staring at each other with the determination to emerge from their unexpected encounter victorious. Judy remained in a slight state of confusion after being zapped by Gloria's unexplainable gadgetry, still feeling as if she had been temporarily stuck in some sort of freeze-frame. Nick's look went from worried to entirely serious. He took two steps back, his paws clenched into fists and his tail flickering. It didn't matter to him what he had to do, Nick had to be certain that Bellwether was captured for good and that his companion was out of harm's way.

The chortles that were coming from Dawn and Gloria's direction brought him back to the present moment, the sounds of them guffawing at Judy made him downright angry. Determination and perseverance coursed through the fox's veins as he proceeded to overhear whatever the dastardly sheep had to say this time.

"True," Bellwether trash-talked, "you guys might be big and strong and super-powered, but we figured you out this time. Besides, there's four of _us_ and only two of _you._ The _sheep_ outnumber you this time."

Nick huffed and grinned slyly. "Outnumbered, you say? Well, in that case…"

It was quite well-known that Nick received his superpower gift of flight, but just like his companion he had received two separate powers that could be used at will. Judy had both super speed and teleportation abilities, and Nick, on the other paw, had both flight and an extra power. While he typically never had to use this gifted ability (only recalling a few moments in which he ever fully used it, the criminals he fought using it being smaller in terms of villainy compared to Bellwether), it felt like the current time was a period in which it was necessary.

Within a flash, a warp of russet-colored energy encompassed the fox. Bellwether watched in complete disbelief as something unbelievable occurred. Nick, unveiling the second gifted superpower, went from one to three. Within a few short seconds, the fox revealed his second ability: Duplication.

The sheep's jaw practically would've dropped to the ground if it was not hinged, what she had just witnessed was totally uncalled for.

"Now we're four against four," Nick remarked in mockery. He turned his attention over to Judy, who was now also completely prepared to take down the foes that surrounded them. "Ready, Carrots?"

Judy simply replied with a determined laugh. The doe ran forward towards Bellwether's goons before abruptly warping away from sight. Doug and Jesse both looked around quizzically, puzzled as to where their target had vanished off to.

 _Zip!_

The sound came from atop of Jesse's head. The sheep looked up out of instinct, being greeted by the two gray rabbit paws sending a kick straight to his face. Doug watched partially stunned as Jesse grunted in frustration, rubbing a gentle hoof weakly over where he received a hard blow. The gray rabbit laughed delightedly before zipping out of the sheep's radar once again, the sensation of being in action feeling almost euphoric to her.

"Blasted rabbit!" Jesse exclaimed in frustration.

 _Zip!_

After about six seconds of disappearing from view, Judy teleported back. This time she now found herself above _Doug's_ head. Jesse tried poking his shoulder to get his immediate attention, but it was too late when Doug shared the same fate. Another zip occurred, and ZipPaw was now standing on the ground, where either Doug and Jesse could easily grasp her.

"Think fast!" she joked playfully, her paws revving up as if they were the engine to some sort of high-powered vehicle. Her super speed started kicking in as she started to gradually accelerate, spinning in continuous circles around the two rams. Doug and Jesse tried their darnedest to grab her, both getting dizzy from trying to follow the rapid circular motions.

"A-ha!" Doug muttered, believing that he somehow caught the speedy rabbit. However, he came to the quick realization that there was no trace of ZipPaw in his grasp.

 _Zip!_

Another quick instance of teleportation sent Judy above Doug's head again, quicker than the ram's reflexes could comprehend. With a swift set of kicks from Judy's accelerated paws, Doug started to become unable to somehow fight back against the rabbit. One extra kick was sent towards him with the greater force, this time sending him down to the ground along with Jesse.

Judy zipped back to the ground, looking back at the two rams she took on. Quite surprisingly, the fight against them was a lot easier than she originally expected. _Two down, two to go!_

"Well, that's taken care of," she remarked, clapping her paws together.

"I wouldn't say that just yet, ZipPaw," a voice called out. Coming from a close corner, the sound of the voice belonged to Bellwether.

Judy quickly turned her body around, looking over at how Nick was dealing with the other two sheep. From a glance, it became more than obvious that Dawn and Gloria were giving the fox more than just a rough time.

Nick's duplication proved successful in confusing the villains, but the copies of himself eventually faded away. It was an unfortunate disadvantage that came alongside his secondary power, that the duplications (regardless of how many were summoned) went out after a certain period of time, requiring more energy to build back up within him before he could use it again.

A sudden blast of kinetic energy bursted out of Gloria's machine, heading straight towards Nick like an arrow heading towards the bull's-eye of an archery target. One of the fired energy shots managed to clip Nick's shoulder, causing him to hesitate slightly. More blasts came out of the gadget, but this time the fox was ready for them. Gloria kept firing the energy balls spontaneously, all of which missed their direct target. Going forwards and backwards, side to side, Nick swiftly and successfully blocked himself from the continuous blasts like a bullet dodger. Gloria angrily yelled in frustration.

Judy revved up and attempted to run stealthily up behind the black sheep, jumping up a little bit in the air when she got a bit closer. Unfortunately for her, Gloria managed to see her coming forward, and hit her with a forcefield courtesy of the gadget. A wave of energy encompassed Judy, surrounding her without any ability to somehow exit out of it. Judy remained frozen in the position she was assuming when she was blasted, halfway down from a swift jump. Bellwether grinned with delight as Gloria tried to perform some sabotage on the poor bunny. The sheep grunted she tried to pull ZipPaw around, messing with the machine so the rabbit would take an unpredictable tumble to the hard ground once the switch was flipped.

Gloria happily pressed a button on the gadget's control panel, and with that the forcefield of energy around Judy quickly dissipated. The rabbit resumed her actions, still stuck in her delighted expression before realizing that her target had unexpectedly changed position. Judy, now completely confused, braced herself as she took an unforgiving fall to the ground. Both Dawn and Gloria merrily proceeded to laugh at ZipPaw's expense, causing the rabbit to become aggravated. Quick on her hooves, the sheep managed to freeze Judy once more right before the bunny could deliver a much-deserved kick towards them. Darting quickly to another spot in the area, the two fiendish sheep turned off the vector field that encircled around the figure of the benevolent bunny once again. A round of unfair chuckling came from the sheep as they watched ZipPaw, who once more landed on the ground startlingly.

The bunny, lifting herself up from the humiliation, caught sight of the very object causing the slip-ups in her apprehension of the villains: Gloria's energy blaster. It became quite clear what the next objective was, either one of them needed to get their paws on that contraption before either Dawn or Gloria continued to misuse it like they were doing.

"Hey!" Judy exclaimed. It didn't do much when the words ejected from her mouth, it rather caused her foes to become more enticed to use it on her for their despicable amusement.

And that was exactly the case in that moment. As Judy continued to run over in an endeavoring attempt at officially apprehending the two sheep, Gloria started finding some enigmatic sense of joy in trying to bring the embarrassment towards her. As the bunny kept getting closer and closer to who she needed to get to, the sheep kept her hoof relentlessly on the control panel, ejecting and releasing the energetic freeze-frame.

Judy kept trying to spit her words out, but, as a result of being messed with by the device, her words came out in small sporadic pieces that made up her sentence. "Hey. Stop. That. You. Two. Ugh!"

Laughter erupted once more, but only for an instant. Something from behind ended up sending the device out of Gloria's hooves and the two sheep down to the ground. Nick had come to a quick and most-desired rescue. Gloria's contraption scattered across the hard ground, pirouetting as Nick flew into the air slightly to get his paws on it.

Dawn and Gloria tried to rush up from the ground to get their gadgetry back, but both of them ended up being frozen in a forcefield by their own invention. The fox looked back the two sheep, still as statues in their rushed and unorganized position. The barrier created around them continued to electrify as Nick tossed the contraption back on the ground.

* * *

 **At Skye Electrics…**

Despite what could be considered a major security intrusion happening not even a few short moments ago, progress at Skye Electrics seemed to continue at its steady and almost monotonous pace. Most of the mammals at their desks and cubicles simply progressed with their designated work as if it were just another ordinary and uneventful day.

However, unlike the folks who occupied the main spaces of the building, more confusion arose for those who were positioned in the security rooms directly upstairs. The mammals simply sat in a circle, rewinding and pausing the security footage continuously. The installed cameras obviously had footage of when Bellwether's cover had been blown, as well as when she was darting through some of the halls. However, after she got to one of the other main entrances that she used to somehow escape, the sheep and her goons completely disappeared from view.

The mammal in charge of the company's operation, Skye, who had been called into the room to help in a further examination of the footage, simply looked in utter shock at the bright screens that lit the dark space in an almost blue hue. Despite seeing the cameras rewinded several times, it still didn't seem real. As if the actual footage had been altered as part of some elaborate and unfunny prank.

"I just don't get understand," the arctic fox muttered, still angered and in a state of disbelief. "Replay the last few seconds."

The wolf seated next to her did as requested, going to the last available clips of the intruders and slowed it down until it played in individual frames. When examined at this slower, frame by frame perspective, some extra and potentially useful details started to come into focus. As each individual still was clicked over, the footage revealed a small factor that made Skye's eyes widen. From the what could now see on the screens, the four sheep intruders in questioning seemed to dissipate from view from bottom to top (the enhanced video from the last of the individual frames provided more transparency to the details). Skye leaned closer to the monitors, having a sort of "Eureka!" moment.

"Hmm, invisibility, I see?" she murmured. "Clever, very clever."

The door behind her bolted open unexpectedly, a fellow assistant came bursting in with a worried expression. "Ma'am," the worker said panicked, "something's wrong and I think you need to see this. The control panel's actin' up!"

Skye tuned around confused and followed the worker to the control panel that he was pertaining to. Standing in front of the big systems, the arctic fox's mouth hung open as she saw what was the matter. Most of the blinking dots (each of them representing something they were under the operation of) that should be lit green were strobing with an uncanny red light. A row of lights that hadn't changed color soon did, and with that Skye realized that this was undoubtedly something that shouldn't happen.

"Oh dear," the arctic fox said, her entire body now in a jolted state of panic. "This is bad. Very, very bad!"

While Skye and the remaining workers of the facility remained unaware of it, the hacking device previously installed by the sheep intruders started to crawl its way into the systems, laying dormant until it was given some sort of extra direct input from its administrator.

* * *

 **Meanwhile...**

"Come on, Nick!" Judy shouted. With those words, both fox and rabbit tried to dart away but ended up being butted into by one of Bellwether's ram minions. Unfortunately for them, Doug woke up from being knocked out a few short moments ago. The two heroes were sent tumbling, Doug meanwhile grabbed the gadget and simply pressed a button.

Bellwether and Gloria came back from their originally frozen position.

"What happened?" Dawn murmured.

Gloria caught sight of her ram companions holding the device and ran straight to get it out of their hooves. "Give me that, you two! You don't know how to work that thing!"

The black sheep lifted the device up and abruptly froze Nick, the fox being completely unaware of what hit them. Another press of a button ensured that he was literally stuck in the stance he was in, without any capability of escaping it.

"Now then," Bellwether said, sighing in relief, "where were we? Since that fox is outta the way, it's time to finally take care of _you,_ ZipPaw."

Judy huffed with a confident smirk. "Trust me, Bellwether, I'm not going down that easy."

* * *

 **Author's Note: Hey everyone! Hope you enjoy this chapter, it was my first attempt at writing some sort of action scene so please let me know if I did a decent job at that. Like I said, action scenes are my kryptonite if I'm being honest, so I'm not sure how I did there.**

 **It's also my first insertion of Elasti-zelle into this story. I wasn't exactly how to place her in this chapter, so I simply decided on giving her a sort of cameo in the beginning there. I promise though that she and Bogo will be getting in on some of the action here too as the mission progresses onward.**

 **As always, let me know what you thought of this chapter (thoughts good and bad are both much appreciated). Thank you to everyone who has been keeping up with this crazy little story of mine, and I'll se ya in the next chapter. Buh-bye! :)**


End file.
